MARY 


SUM-HP 
LOCKE 


^'S 


/ 


••••*, 


CAUF.  UBRAMY. 


HE  GOT  NO  FURTHER,  FOR  MARY  WAS  AT  THE  DOOR.  [Page  217.] 


SAMARITAN    MARY 


BY 

SUMNER  LOCKE 


ILLUSTRATIONS    BY 

JAMES  O.  CHAPIN 


COPYRIGHT.  1916. 

BY 

HENRY  HOLT  AND  COMPANY 


Published  February,  1916 


SAMARITAN    MARY 

CHAPTER  I 

"  COUNT  your  many  blessings,"  said  Mary  Set- 
tler, as  she  swung  round  from  the  stove  with  a 
dilapidated  stocking  thrust  over  her  hand. 

"  Count  them  .  .  .  one  ...  by  ...  one,"  she 
continued,  poking  her  fingers  through  holes  in  the 
toe  at  the  black  and  yellow  cat  on  the  kitchen 
settee,  who,  with  a  number  of  sleepy  kittens  snug- 
gling against  her,  seemed  loth  to  count  anything 
more  a  blessing  or  otherwise. 

"  It's  a  wonder  to  me  she  never  fell  clean  through 
this  ventilated  bit  of  hosiery  altogether,"  the  good 
woman  went  on.  "  That's  one  of  the  blessings,  old 
cat  Hannah-Ellen,  and  the  others  have  come  on  me 
like  a  crop  of  early  chilblains.  Nothing  like  a  crop 
of  chilblains  or  a  pair  of  new  boots  that's  been  too 
familiar  to  be  comfortable  to  keep  you  from  worry- 
ing about  anything  else!  .  .  .  And  they're  what  I 
call  blessings  .  .  .  you  get  me?  Blessings  that 
come  down  in  showers  and  nobody  looking  out  for 
them  and  feeling  them  like  hailstones  till  they  finds 
them  to  be  the  reverse." 


2130992 


2  SAMARITAN  MARY 

She  looked  at  the  stockings  again.  "  Now  from 
what  I  can  make  out,  this  business  of  a  rampageous 
horse  running  away  with  a  vegetable  cart,  and  a 
girl  on  top  like  a  bobbing  five-cents  air-ball-give- 
away-with-the-extra-coupon,  and  coming  down  in 
the  dirt  of  the  road  as  sudden  as  a  punched  balloon, 
is  ...  that  it's  a  blessing  for  her,  same  time  as  it 
is  for  me.  One  for  Miss  Spring  Roper  of  Ladybird 
Farm,  as  fell  off  Jerry  Grab's  cart,  and  two  for 
Mary  Settler — that's  me,  by  the  precise  way  I'm 
saying  it.  Two  for  me  .  .  .  my  land!  Haven't 
I  been  wishin'  good  and  hard  to  get  a  handful  of 
trouble  to  deal  with  like  this  ever  since  Mrs.  Casey 
— five  years  come  Thanksgiving  since  that  poor  soul 
died  in  my  arms — and  only  Benjamin  with  his 
operation  on  his  nose  to  count  as  anything  since. 
Some  folks  would  feel  it  uncommon  hard  to  have 
nothing  to  do  in  the  service  of  humanity,  and  I'm 
among  that  same  lot.  .  .  .  Barring  havin'  some- 
body's baby  in  the  house,  Hannah-Ellen,  and  that 
occurring  the  once  in  twelve  months  to  make  it  a 
proper  deal  at  all  ...  there's  not  much  to  keep  a 
hungry  heart  alive.  You  know  that,  old  cat;  you 
got  an  installment  of  four  or  five  at  one  sitting  .  .  . 
count  your  blessings,  I  say.  .  .  .  I'm  surprised  at 
you,  Hannah-Ellen ! " 

She  pulled  the  stockings  off  her  hands  and  ob- 
served them  quizzically. 


SAMARITAN  MARY  3 

"  Seems  like  I'll  have  to  be  borrowin'  a  pair  of 
that  Benjamin  o'  the  yard's  for  her  if  she  is  of  a 
mind  to  get  up  in  the  morning,  and  wanted  to  travel 
home  to  her  ma,  more  like  a  Christian,  with  a  hair- 
stuffed  cushion  under  her,  'stead  of  the  vegetables 
she  started  out  on.  Well,  we'll  have  to  get  her 
clothes  somehow  .  .  .  and  I've  got  that  on  me 
hands  too,  praise  be.  ...  I've  picked  a  few  things 
off  the  road,  lame  dogs  run  over  by  motor  ma- 
chinery .  .  .  and  tramps  with  life  stories  as  long 
as  from  here  to  Boston  .  .  .  but  a  nicer-looking, 
act-like-a-lady-and-do-it-good-and-easy  kinder  crea- 
ture I  ain't  yet  had  in  my  house.  Maybe  Clara 
Hopkins  will  look  in  tonight  and  loan  us.  ... " 

She  looked  up  to  see  a  happy,  grinning,  full, 
ripe  face  through  the  kitchen  door.  It  was  "  Ben- 
jamin o'  the  yard." 

"  Say,  is  Clara  Hopkins  comin'  across?  "  he  asked 
Mary. 

Mary  tossed  the  dishwater  down  the  sink  and 
looked  at  him  with  a  fresh  expression. 

"  'Course  Clara  is  comin' !  " 

"  She  didn't  say  she  was !  " 

"  She  don't  have  need  to  say." 

"What's  she  ...  after?" 

"  Maybe  to  see  what's  happenin'  down  our  place. 
You're  mighty  curious  about  Clara.  S'pose  she's 
heard  about  the  accident." 


4  SAMARITAN  MARY 

"How  could  she  hear?  She's  on'y  gettin'  back 
from  work." 

"  She  don't  have  need  to  get  back  from  work 
to  hear  we  got  part  of  the  accident  here.  Clara 
can  hear  things  much  further  than  you  think,  Ben- 
jamin." 

The  boy  grinned  and  scratched  one  ear.  "  Say, 
is  she  goin'  to  stop  a  bit,  Mary  ?  " 

"  More'n  likely!  Was  you  thinkin'  of  gettin' 
cleaned  up?  " 

"  Yep.  Gimme  the  bowl.  I  got  no  soap  up  the 
shed,  Mary." 

The  woman  handed  him  a  piece  of  yellow 
scented  soap  from  the  side  of  the  sink.  There  was 
a  decided  twinkle  in  her  eyes. 

"  Anybody  would  think  you  was  makin'  a  meal 
off  your  bath  lately,  Benjamin,  the  way  you  git 
rid  of  soap  and  water.  I  'most  surely  admit  you're 
lookin'  better  on  it." 

"  I  don't  hev  need  to  look  better  on  it  if  I  do 
make  a  meal  outter  it,  Mary.  What's  this  you 
give  me?  " 

He  held  up  the  cake  of  soap. 

"  It's  some  of  my  best  I  uses  when  I'm  expectin' 
somebody  special.  You  try  it." 

"Hev  you  used  it  today,  Mary?"  He  was 
a  bit  dubious  about  how  far  Mary  was  getting 
him. 


SAMARITAN  MARY  5 

"  I'm  not  expectin'  anybody  as  I  know  on  that 
would  encourage  me  to  waste  that  expensive  soap, 
Benjamin." 

"Not  Clara?    You  sed  you  was  expectin'  her." 

"  I  said  I  knew  she  was  comin'.  That  ain't  any- 
body special — leastways  not  to  me." 

The  boy  backed  from  the  door  and  took  the  bowl 
and  the  soap  to  the  tank.  He  was  busy  there  for 
quite  a  long  time,  and  when  Mary  looked  up  the 
yard  he  had  gone  into  the  shed  where  he  slept,  and 
had  shut  the  door. 

She  was  still  looking  through  the  kitchen  door, 
when  Clara  Hopkins  came  into  the  yard. 

Clara  was  a  thin  used-up  woman,  perhaps  a  good 
many  years  younger  than  Mary  Settler,  but  she  took 
no  advantage  of  that  fact.  Her  movements  were 
direct,  her  words  hammered  out  rather  than  re- 
peated when  she  was  worked  up  in  argument.  The 
nature  of  a  creature,  man,  woman,  child,  bird,  or 
beast,  came  to  her  in  a  flash,  and  she  spared  no 
opinion  good  or  bad  when  she  thought  that  it 
ought  to  have  an  airing.  On  the  other  hand, 
Mary  Settler  was  slower  to  gauge  exact  worth  be- 
cause she  accepted  folk  for  what  of  them  came 
to  the  surface,  knowing  truly  that  to  err  is  piti- 
fully human  and  to  forgive — a  satisfaction  to  the 
soul. 

The  elder  woman's  bosom  surged,  often  restless 


6  SAMARITAN  MARY 

and  disturbed,  because  of  the  mighty  tempest  rising 
to  drag  pity  and  sympathy  from  the  roots  of  her 
heart.  Man  and  beast,  bird  and  flower,  all  called 
up  in  Mary  Settler  the  same  emotion  of  passionate 
and  protective  tenderness  a  mother  gives  her  child. 
Benjamin  o'  the  yard  once  remarked  to  a  neighbor 
that  "  Mary  Settler  wouldn't  leave  a  wheel-barrer 
out  of  a  cold  night;  and  as  to  them  chickens  and 
poultry,  you'd  think  they  was  real  human  the  way 
they  takes  advantage  of  her !  " 

"  Come  right  in,  Clara,"  said  Mary,  walking 
from  the  door  and  concerning  herself  for  a  minute 
with  the  turning  of  the  washing  at  the  stove.  "  Just 
a  minute  while  I  move  these  things  off  the  chair. 
There's  a  chicken  that  got  run  over  be  the  old 
horse,  hidin'  in  them  bits  of  flannel  there ;  and  seein' 
it's  half  blind  be  the  way  it  was  born,  it  wouldn't 
be  kinder  fair  to  let  you  sit  down,  not  meanin'  to 
harm  it  unknowin'ly." 

"  I'll  take  the  rocker,"  said  Clara,  making  signs 
of  a  lengthy  visit. 

"  Mind  Hannah-Ellen  then.  She's  somewhere 
about  with  this  year's  kittens.  I  'lowed  she  could 
bring  them  in  because  a  strange  dog  has  been  hangin' 
about  with  his  nose  inspectin'  trouble.  There's  a 
chair  now.  Set  down  and  rest.  I'll  be  needin'  your 
services  perhaps  sooner  or  later,  so  just  you  rest 
yourself  while  things  is  quiet." 


SAMARITAN  MARY  7 

"  I  hear  you  got  Spring  Roper  of  Ladybird;  and 
Miss  Hetty,  she  took  the  gentleman  as  was  also 
concerned  in  the  accident." 

"  Miss  Hetty,  she  'most  got  the  whole  funeral 
right  in  her  front  yard,  I'm  thinkin'.  Land,  Clara, 
you  should've  seen  that  horse  tearin'  about  the  place 
for  all  the  world  like  a  bad  storm  in  my  barn- 
yard." 

"  Well,  it's  considerable  of  a  chore  to  Miss  Hetty 
to  have  that  ellergint  young  gentleman  in  her  parlor 
and  all  her  lilac  bushes  cluttered  about.  She  won't 
get  over  it  in  a  hurry  either,  and  yet  her  the  only 
person  to  really  see  the  accident !  Some  folks  ain't 
thankful  for  nothin'.  And  the  ellergint  young  gen- 
tleman come  from  the  city  I  believe — though  Miss 
Hetty,  she  can't  get  much  outter  him,  an'  he  ain't 
up  to  answerin'  questions  through  happenin'  to  fall 
clean  on  the  top  of  his  head  for  all  the  world  like  as 
if  he  was  mendin'  the  roof  and  somebody  pushed 
him  overboard.  My !  it  must  hev  been  a  sight.  .  .  ." 

Mary  bustled  around  the  kitchen.  She  found 
things  to  do  in  every  corner.  She  vanished  up  the 
passage  for  a  moment,  opened  the  bedroom  door, 
and  took  a  peep  at  the  girl  lying  in  her  white  bed; 
then  she  shut  the  door  quietly  and  came  back  and 
attended  to  the  sick  chicken. 

"  Speakin'  my  mind  out,  Clara,  you  know  as 
much  as  I  can  tell  you  maybe,  as  you've  had  an 


8  SAMARITAN  MARY 

interview  with  the  district,  and  me  been  tied  here 
with  on'y  Benjamin  and  Hannah-Ellen  to  help  over 
the  mistakes,  but  ...  if  Spring's  manner  of  gettin' 
along  behind  that  horse  wasn't  a  first-class,  front- 
seat,  pass-out-check-and-come-in-when-you-please 
kind  of  entertainment,  then  I  muster  been  havin'  a 
spell  of  second  sight  without  knowin'  it.  Maybe  I 
wasn't  lookin'  the  right  way  to  be  comfortable  in 
my  mind,  and  seen  less  than  Miss  Hetty,  who 
never  misses  as  much  as  a  fly  on  the  window 
screen." 

"  Funny  things  always  happen  when  I'm  away 
workin',"  said  Clara. 

"  But  you  gets  most  of  the  news,  Clara,  you  bein' 
anxious  and  ready  for  anything  that  comes  along." 

"  What  was  Spring  Roper  doin'  on  Jerry  Grab's 
vegetable  cart?  I  ain't  got  that  correct  so  far." 

Mary  embedded  the  sick  chicken  into  the  depths 
of  the  flannel  and  went  once  more  to  take  a  look  in 
the  bedroom. 

"  There  was  that  horse,  Clara,"  she  said  when 
she  returned.  "  It  was  springin'  along  as  if  it  was 
made  of  rubber.  It  was  shakin'  the  head  off  itself 
like  as  if  it  was  goin'  to  spit  out  all  its  teeth.  Sheer 
spite  it  was,  and  the  boy  hettin'  up  things  something 
fearful  and  that  bit  of  a  lamb  slidin'  and  slippin' 
this  way  and  that  on  top  o'  the  greengrocery  till  I 
thought  I'd  hear  her  inside  rattle  all  out  of  place. 


SAMARITAN  MARY  9 

Then  she  comes  gently  and  suddenly  over  the  tail- 
board, hangin'  there  a  minit  or  two,  and  trying  to 
keep  her  toes,  bumpin'  the  ground  long  enough  to 
be  certain  she'd  got  that  far.  It  didn't  take  her 
long  to  discover  she'd  come  to  mother  earth  when 
she  let  go  with  her  hands.  You'd  have  thought 
a  cyclone  had  started  right  in  her  face  and  clean 
shoved  her  backwards." 

"  Could  she  speak  to  you,  Mary  ?  What  did  she 
say?" 

"  First  thing  she  says  when  I  get  her  into  bed 
with  all  them  bits  of  wrecked  clothes  out  of  sight, 
is :  '  Oh,  Mother,  I  didn't  mean  to  do  it.'  The  poor 
lamb,  as  if  any  of  it  was  ever  intended  to  be 
meant." 

"  It  was  an  auto  comin'  right  in  the  face  of  the 
vegetable  cart  set  the  horse  rampagin' !  "  said  Clara. 
"  Spring  muster  hopped  off  in  time." 

"  Thank  the  Lord  for  that.  She  can  count  it 
a  blessin'  same  as  I  do." 

"  Don't  see  where  you  count  it  a  blessin',  Mary," 
Clara  ventured,  "  seein'  you  wasn't  on  the  cart  when 
it  all  happened." 

"  I  count  it  a  blessin'  bein'  right  there  behind 
when  she  fell  off,"  said  Mary.  "  It  was  mighty 
encouragin'  to  hear  her  say,  all  cuddled  up  over  my 
heart  that  was  workin'  like  a  engine  under  me  every- 
day dress : '  Oh,  Mother,  I  didn't  mean  to  do  it.'  " 


io  SAMARITAN  MARY 

"  'Course,  Mary,  I  don't  suppose  she  did  mean 
to  do  it." 

"  'Twasn't  that  part  touched  me  most,  Clara.  It 
was  the  '  Oh,  Mother ! '  cry  from  her  that  was  en- 
couragin'." 


CHAPTER  II 

"  '  IT  would  be  something  worth  knowing/  I  says, 
'  if  you  were  to  tell  us  just  where  you  were  thinking 
of  going  when  you  started  out  on  the  top  of  all 
them  vegetables  ? ' 

Mary  continued  her  story  with  a  zest  to  which 
Clara  Hopkins'  exclamations  added  interest  every 
moment. 

"  '  I  wanted  to  go  .  .  .to  the  city,'  she  says, 
slowlike  and  trying  to  hide  something." 

"  '  The  city  was  it  ?  '  I  got  out.  '  You  might 
have  been  reaching  for  any  part  of  the  United 
States.'  Reminds  me,  Clara,  of  the  boy  that 
wanted  to  see  the  wheels  go  over  a  flat-headed  tack 
he  put  on  the  railroad.  They  said  afterwards  that 
he  knew  more  about  that  tack  than  any  mortal 
livin'  soul,  an'  it  was  a  pity  his  information  wasn't 
more  use  to  him,  seeing  the  experience  he  had  and 
what  he  went  through." 

Mary  crossed  the  kitchen  to  adjust  the  clothes 
by  the  stove. 

"  '  We're  the  Ropers,'  she  says  to  me.  '  Way 
down  past  Bird  Town.  Mother  and  all  of  us  work 
Ladybird  Farm.  It's  awfully  hard,  and  the  mort- 


12  SAMARITAN  MARY 

gage  is  most  depressing.'  Now  think  of  that,  Clara ! 
The  Ropers  originally  come  of  something  with  a 
bit  more  color  in  the  blood  than  any  in  these  parts. 
I  could  see  that  be  the  turn  of  Spring's  ankles  and 
wrists  even  when  she  was  turning  a  cyclone  stunt 
in  the  middle  of  the  road.  They've  been  makin'  a 
world  of  trouble  on  themselves  ever  since  Graham 
P.  died — the  Ropers — tryin'  to  make  ends  meet. 
Now  I  never  heard  that  ends  did  meet.  Not  their 
kind  of  ends  anyhow.  Too  many  ways  of  fmishin' 
off  to  be  an  end  at  all;  besides  I  always  says  that 
if  there  are  ends  you  can't  make  them  into  any- 
thing else  however  long  you  try.  An  end's  an  end, 
and  it's  a  finish,  and  a  finish  is  a  full  stop,  and  a 
full  stop  ain't  always  convenient  when  there's  a 
family  growin'  up  and  can't  wait  or  stop  growin' 
jes'  because  there's  nothing  in  the  food  closet.  I've 
got  me  own  notions  about  Spring.  It  was  her  Aunt 
Susannah  that  scared  to  the  tail  of  that  trouble. 
She  was  runnin'  away  from  somethin'." 

Taking  one  frayed  stocking  from  the  line  Mary 
hoisted  it  over  her  hand  again. 

"  Would  you  be  wearin'  your  best  stockin's  be 
any  chance,  Clara,  or  on'y  your  everyday  worsted 
ones  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  I  changed  them  this  very  day,  Mary,  thinkin* 
the  weather  might  be  sensible  to  something  thinner," 
Clara  replied. 


SAMARITAN  MARY  13 

"  Then  let  us  have  them  off  you  this  minute !  " 
Mary's  air  of  mild  and  abstract  interest  vanished 
instantly. 

"  I  can  give  them  a  run  through  this  water,  'cos 
Spring  might  be  recovering  sooner  or  later  and 
likely  to  want  to  hit  it  for  her  ma  and  Bird  Town. 
You  peel  off,  Clara,  and  I'll  serve  you  a  pair  of 
mine.  They  can't  harm  you,  though  they  do  make 
a  younger  leg  than  mine  itch  something  terrible 
.  .  .  unless  there's  a  scare  of  rheumatism  in  the 
blood." 

Clara  Hopkins  talked  like  a  trip-hammer  all  the 
time  she  was  changing  her  footgear. 

"  Graham  P.  Roper  was  the  man  killed  in  the 
Pynes  Steel  Works  that  time.  I  remember;  I  was 
working  up  that  way.  The  company  give  Mrs. 
Roper  a  check  to  start  them  in  the  farm.  They 
don't  seem  to  make  a  shake  outter  things.  ..." 

"  Still  I  expecks  Mrs.  Roper  was  thankful  enuff 
to  get  started  at  all,  seeing  there's  not  much  left  of 
a  man  after  he's  been  through  what  Graham  P.  man- 
aged to  fall  into.  The  check  was  about  as  much  as 
could  be  hoped  for,  I  should  say.  Sentiment  don't 
come  into  these  business  affairs,  and  it's  all  in  a 
day  if  a  man  gets  caught  up  in  the  machinery.  A 
few  hundred  dollars  is  a  real  good  thing  and  always 
welcome  when  there's  children  to  be  fed  and 
housed,  and  maybe  it's  hard  to  part  with  a  man 


i4  SAMARITAN  MARY 

sudden  like  that,  but  ...  a  lump  of  dollars  right 
off  an  accident  does  a  heap  towards  restoring 
things,  and  gives  young  stomachs  a  chance  to  bear 
up  in  the  trouble.  Now  if  one  of  the  family  had 
been  caught  up  in  that  machinery  same  time  as 
Graham  P.,  Mrs.  Roper  might  have  been  justified 
in  asking  for  more,  but  seeing  that  it  was  only 
Graham  P.  and  only  one  accident  it  would  be  sort 
of  over-grabbin'  to  think  about  a  double  check.  I 
knew  a  woman,  down  Chicago  way,  had  her  son 
fall  overboard  into  something  terrible  hot  he  was 
meddling  with  in  the  name  of  work,  and  they  only 
made  it  good  to  her  in  a  couple  of  dozen  cans  of 
ham  and  turkey  and  mixed  fish,  the  same  being  a 
memoranda  of  the  occasion  and  not  much  consola- 
tion seeing  there  was  no  proper  organized  fu- 
neral. ..." 

Clara  was  replacing  her  stockings  by  a  pair  of 
thick  woolen  ones  belonging  to  Mary. 

"  I  must  confess,"  Mary  interrupted,  intent  on 
her  own  thoughts,  "  that  the  Aunt  Susannah  busi- 
ness nearly  got  me  beat.  It  appears  she  is  more 
of  a  relation  of  Graham  P.'s  than  of  his  children. 
A  kinder  second  aunt,  his  mother's  side,  not  re- 
moved far  enuff  to  be  out  of  any  little  thing  that 
happens,  and  no  one  really  to  blame  for  it.  Spring's 
got  a  cause  against  her  because  she's  that  tidy  about 
a  place  .  .  .  well,  you  know  the  sort,  Clara  ?  You'd 


SAMARITAN  MARY  15 

be  afraid  to  have  a  cold  in  your  head  in  her  house. 
As  far  as  I  can  make  out  Spring  is  a  kinder  promise 
to  her  ever  since  she  was  ten.  Now  Mrs.  Roper 
has  sort  of  postponed  that  promise  every  year  till 
Aunt  Susannah  has  got  up  a  complaint  about  it. 
Seven  dollars  a  month  lost  through  it  too." 

The  stockings  coiled  on  the  line  like  two  limp 
black  wriggling  reptiles,  as  Mary  threw  them  over 
it.  She  worked  them  into  something  like  their 
proper  shape  while  she  went  on  talking. 

"  I  asks  Spring  .  .  .  did  Aunt  Susannah  used  to 
carry  a  parcel  of  bills  handy  in  case  her  mother  was 
out  with  the  store  account?  " 

"  '  Once  she  gave  mother  five  dollars  towards 
Thanksgiving,'  says  the  lamb.  '  Mother  had  asked 
her  to  come  to  dinner  with  us.  We  had  a  splendid 
lot  of  fun'  .  .  .  Got  that,  Clara?" 

'  Aunt  Susannah  was  real  nice/  Spring  tells  me, 
'and  ate  as  much  as  anyone.  It  pleased  mother, 
who's  quite  proud  of  her  cakes  and  mincemeat.' ' 

"  Seems  like,  Clara  .  .  .  she's  one  of  the  kind 
that  like  to  know  what  she  eats  has  been  paid  for. 
.  .  .  Her  conscience  ought  to  have  been  setting 
down  easy  that  dinner  if  it  never  has  since.  And 
that  seven  dollars  a  month.  .  .  .  Spring  tells  me 
she  was  to  attend  her  Aunt  Susannah  well,  and  not 
speak  the  very  first  thing  that  came  into  her  head. 
.  .  .  Now  listen  to  that,  will  you  ?  Makes  me  fair 


1 6  SAMARITAN  MARY 

mad  ...  to  think  there's  critters  in  this  world,  like 
that  Aunt  Susannah,  stopping  a  baby  using  her 
tongue  much  as  she  pleases.  What  chance  has  a  girl, 
or  a  woman,  or  a  man,  or  a  monkey,  if  it  comes  to 
that,  if  there's  a  bridle  put  on  them  always  ?  I  mean 
to  keep  Spring  Roper  under  my  own  observations — 
even  if  I  have  to  call  on  Aunt  Susannah  about  sup- 
plying the  seven  dollars  regular,  without  the 
services  rendered." 

Clara  eased  her  feet  in  the  changed  gear. 

"  Miss  Hetty,"  she  said,  "  she  won't  be  doing 
much  for  the  ellergint  young  gentleman.  She  let 
Doc  Harkins  have  it  all  his  own  and  never  as  much 
as  offered  to  wash  any  of  the  accident  off  of  him." 

"  I  expect,  though,  she  won't  have  to  borrer 
proper  clothing  same  as  I'm  doing  for  Spring  Roper, 
seeing  he  come  from  the  city  and  maybe  has  a 
valise  tucked  away  safely  in  the  auto." 

.  "  A  brown  leather  one  it  was."  Clara  hit  on  the 
mark  easily.  "  Miss  Hetty  was  mighty  curious 
when  they  brought  it  in  for  all  the  world  as  if  she 
was  expecting  a  summer  boarder.  Doc  Harkins 
wouldn't  allow  on  nothing  being  touched  till  the 
city  gentleman  was  fit  to  calc'late  where  he  was  and 
what  his  real  name  was." 

"They  got  Doc  Harkins  then?  My!  I  had  a 
feelin'  the  profession  would  come  into  it.  Spring 
don't  like  a  girl  to  come  into  ordinary  doings. 


SAMARITAN  MARY  17 

Nothing  less  than  an  ellergint  young  gentleman  as 
you  say,  and  an  auto  .  .  .  and  a  brown  leather 
valise,  maybe  with  his  initials  on,  Clara  ?  " 

"  Q.  L.  P.  I  helped  Miss  Hetty  rub  the  dirt  off 
a  bit  and  we  discovered  them." 

"  That  was  good  of  you,  Clara,  though  Miss 
Hetty  used  to  be  handy  with  the  duster  once  upon 
a  time  and  never  needed  any  help  of  that  sort. 
Still,  as  you  say,  Q.  L.  P.  on  the  brown  leather  looks 
significant  enuff.  And  .  .  .  the  profession  into  it 
as  well  will  cost  something.  What  you  might  call 
going  some  into  the  liabilities  of  finance;  which  re- 
minds me,  Clara  .  .  .  that  if  Spring  is  reasonable 
to  stop  abed  a  day  or  so  and  give  her  bruises  a 
chance  to  rub  off,  I'll  be  needin'  you  to  step  up  a 
spell  with  your  book  about  Lord  and  Lady  Tre- 
mendous while  I  go  to  see  her  ma  down  Ladybird 
Farm." 

"  I  could  come  around  Saturday,"  said  Clara, 
rising  to  depart  and  stumbling  a  bit  in  the  awkward- 
ness of  a  too-well-filled  boot.  "  Lor',  Mary,"  she 
went  on,  "  these  stockings  of  yours  fills  my  boots 
so  that  my  feet  are  kinder  out  of  focus  with  'em. 
I'll  have  to  go  slow  a  bit  .  .  .  suppose  I  couldn't 
have  a  peep  at  Spring  Roper  .  .  .  just  a  min- 
ute. .  .  ."  But  Mary  was  tying  on  her  bonnet 
behind  the  kitchen  door. 

"  Miss  Roper'll  be  delighted  to  see  you  Saturday, 


1 8  SAMARITAN  MARY 

Clara.  Just  now  I'll  call  Benjamin  to  mind  her 
a  time  while  I  walk  up  the  road  with  you.  We'll 
take  a  turn  up  past  Miss  Hetty's.  I  got  that  brown 
leather  gentleman  setting  down  like  a  bee  in  my 
mind,  now  that  I  know  the  ins  and  outs  of  the 
case." 

She  shouted  up  the  yard  for  Benjamin,  who  came 
with  a  boiled  look,  due  to  overdoses  of  soap  and 
hot  water,  about  his  face,  and  moving  slowly  as  a 
crawfish. 


CHAPTER  III 

LATE  that  night  Mary  Settler  returned  at  the 
head  of  a  procession  of  neighboring  men  with  the 
"  ellergint  young  gentleman "  on  a  borrowed 
stretcher. 

"  It  would  be  kind  of  comfortable  for  Q.  L.  P. 
to  wake  up  tomorrow  and  know  he  could  lie  in  for 
a  week  or  so,  and  no  bother  to  us,"  she  said  back 
over  her  shoulder.  "  Miss  Hetty,  she  do  take  a 
deal  of  trouble  with  visitors,  an'  maybe  it's  natural 
she  wants  to  make  it  cleanin'  day  for  her  parlor 
tomorrow.  Praise  be,  I  turned  out  my  front  room 
only  yesterday,  and  he  don't  need  be  disturbed  for 
a  bit.  Miss  Hetty  was  likely  to  feel  it  terrible,  her 
havin'  to  let  the  dust  lie,  when  she's  been  used  to 
a  thorough  clean-out  once  a  week — even  if  she- don't 
have  need  to  use  the  parlor  at  all." 

The  man  who  had  driven  his  own  car  clean 
through  the  heart  of  Miss  Hetty's  lilac  bushes 
wakened  to  find  himself  stripped  of  his  clothes, 
and  of  almost  any  satisfactory  reason.  Instead  of 
the  gray  overall  suit  and  necessary  equipment  of 
a  long  distance  motorist,  he  was  now  wearing  a 

19 


20  SAMARITAN  MARY 

shirt  which  was  neither  comfortable  nor  agreeable 
to  his  sensitive  skin.  The  color  of  it  was  neither 
gray,  nor  blue,  nor  red,  nor  yellow,  but  had  a 
chameleon  effect  when  he  held  up  one  arm  and  let 
the  light  fall  on  it.  Altogether  it  was  a  mean  sort 
of  garment  with  only  one  way  of  attaining  a  certain 
purpose,  that  purpose  being  to  go  just  as  far  as 
its  meanness  allowed  and  not  by  any  manner  of 
persuasion,  further. 

However,  he  soon  turned  his  attention  from  him- 
self to  his  surroundings,  and  in  a  short  time  brought 
back  his  searching  eyes  to  where  they  had  started. 
He  could  make  nothing  of  the  place  at  all,  and 
started  to  examine  the  different  parts  of  his  anatomy 
just  in  case  they  might  also  prove  foreign  to  him. 
But  everything  seemed  in  place,  except  that  there 
were  certain  discomforts  whenever  he  lifted  an  arm 
too  far  or  attempted  any  sort  of  movement  what- 
ever with  his  back  or  lower  limbs. 

Something  he  wanted  to  remember  escaped  him 
altogether.  There  had  been  a  smashup,  he  knew 
that.  A  beastly-looking  horse  and  cart  had  sud- 
denly rounded  the  corner,  madly  bearing  down  upon 
him,  before  he  could  alter  the  course  or  the  speed 
of  the  car.  He  remembered  nothing  whatever 
about  an  apology  or  what  came  afterwards.  Now 
he  was  in  a  shaded  room  that  looked  very  depress- 
ing. And  somewhere  in  the  corner  of  his  mind 


SAMARITAN  MARY  21 

there  was  a  '  bogie  '  telling  him  that  he  would  have 
to  stay  there  for  some  days,  if  not  weeks. 

Through  a  horizontal  bar  of  vacancy  just  below 
the  window  shade  which  had  been  pulled  down, 
and  tied  so  that  it  could  in  no  way  escape  its  full 
duty,  a  shaft  of  bright  yellow  light  cut  in  a  direct, 
broad  line  to  the  floor.  Nearer  his  bed  and  on  the 
other  side  of  the  room  a  sulky  darkness  gave  him 
no  help  whatever. 

The  sheets  round  his  body  were  almost  stiff  with 
freshness  and  the  faint  smell  of  things  newly 
laundered  finished  any  calculations  he  was  trying 
to  make. 

Towards  one  deep  corner,  buried  in  the  darkness 
somewhere,  a  bluebottle-fly  started  to  sing  its  way 
to  the  shaft  of  light  under  the  window  blind.  Hum- 
ming there  in  a  revolving  circle  it  struck  the  taut 
material  of  the  blind,  and  the  snap  of  wings  and 
body  came  again  and  again  to  him,  not  altogether 
pleasantly. 

Later  on,  through  the  closed  door  someone 
started  a  long  refrain  of  modulated  talking,  which 
never  seemed  to  alter,  nor  decrease,  nor  get  any 
louder.  It  was  Mary  in  the  kitchen. 

"  She  was  just  the  sort  of  human  creature  I  was 
expectin'  after  knowin'  Spring  for  a  night.  One 
of  the  kind  that  wears  big  eyes  in  her  head  and 
hardly  uses  'em  at  all  'cept  to  stare  at  you  when 


22  SAMARITAN  MARY 

she  don't  seem  to  know  what  to  say.  Didn't  take 
me  long  to  just  make  out  the  size  of  things  and 
which  way  they  was  goin',  whether  it  was  jump,  or 
fall,  or  be  pushed,  and  reckonin'  on  her  havin'  had 
a  baby  mostly  once  a  year  until  the  Lord  signified  to 
Graham  P.  to  pass  right  along  be  means  of  the 
machinery  in  the  steel  works,  which  sort  of  hurried 
him,  I  can't  see  that  she  could  hev  done  more'n 
she  did." 

This  came  to  the  man  lying  in  the  parlor,  rather 
indefinitely,  and  though  he  could  not  make  much 
out  of  it  he  felt  stirred  to  get  up  and  see  for  himself 
just  what  kind  of  a  person  it  was  who  possessed 
such  unqualified  opinions.  When  he  moved  his  foot, 
however,  he  felt  a  peculiar  twitching  in  one  knee, 
and  sitting  up  was  altogether  a  misery.  Some- 
thing like  a  burning  needle  traveled  down  the  length 
of  his  spine  and  he  lay  down  again  with  some  relief. 

"...  'Course  I  told  her,  gentle-like,  I'd  got 
Spring  fixed  up  all  easy  and  peaceful,  and  her  not 
to  worry,  but  I  could  see  that  she  was  one  o'  them 
kind  that  keeps  a  tidy  eye  right  on  you  all  the  time 
she's  makin'  believe  and  you  thinkin'  you  got  her 
fast  and  sure,  but  dreckly  she's  done  her  day's  work, 
and  there's  nobody  around  to  interrupt  the  deluge, 
you  can  bet  your  boots  and  stockings,  Clara,  she'd 
be  makin'  a  horrible  mess  of  her  piller  that  night." 

The  woman's  voice  went  on  in  the  same  strain, 


SAMARITAN  MARY  23 

never  increasing,  never  diminishing,  but  always  the 
same  modulated  rhythmical  hum.  The  snatches  of 
conversation  floated  to  the  man;  but  he  got  nothing 
more  out  of  it  than  he  had  gained  of  the  knowl- 
edge of  his  surroundings.  When  he  had  con- 
sidered the  chameleon  shirt  again,  the  dark  objec- 
tionable pieces  of  furniture  about  him,  the  fly,  and 
the  insistent  humming  of  the  voices  somewhere  not 
very  far  off,  he  swore  quietly. 

This  gave  him  some  very  direct  evidence  about 
himself.  He  was  no  longer  a  benumbed  creature 
of  circumstances.  He  was  a  living,  breathing,  un- 
happy man  with  a  fierce  resentment  of  some  trick 
which  had  been  played  him  by  fate.  He  was 
strongly  antagonistic  to  his  present  environment 
and  to  the  humming  sounds  which  came  so  repeat- 
edly, and  which  only  muddled  his  brain. 

Then  gradually  his  comprehension  widened  as  if 
light  were  creeping  on  him,  slowly,  like  the  almost 
imperceptible  creeping  of  dawn  on  a  night  sky. 

He  was  in  bed,  wrecked  up  in  some  way,  but 
just  why,  or  how,  he  could  not  determine.  An 
entanglement  of  strange  faces  and  happenings 
wavered  in  and  out  of  his  brain.  The  faces  must 
belong  to  the  people  concerned  in  the  thing  that 
had  happened  to  him,  he  decided.  Had  he  been 
part  of  a  railroad  accident?  He  knew  that  he  had 
had  some  kind  of  a  fall,  but  that  was  very  indefi- 


24  SAMARITAN  MARY 

nite.  He  wondered  if  he  should  call  out,  and  to 
whom? 

He  thought  that  if  he  could  manage  to  think 
of  something  to  say,  he  might  call  out  loud  enough 
to  stop  that  ceaseless  flow  of  talk  in  the  kitchen. 

It  was  getting  horribly  on  his  nerves  and  it  was 
not  the  kind  of  thing  at  all  he  had  been  used  to. 
Mentally  he  felt  himself  on  a  level  with  someone 
who  had  managed  to  bungle  hopelessly  into  the 
servants'  quarter  of  a  private  house,  and  it  didn't 
suit  him  at  all  to  be  lying  there  apparently  at  the 
mercy  of  domestics  and  other  people  to  whom  he 
might  have  to  say  thank  you  for  some  benefits  he 
had  not  yet  discovered.  With  a  flushed  face  he 
turned  the  thing  over  in  his  mind  and  tried  to  catch 
a  little  more  of  the  conversation. 

Mary  Settler  had  evidently  been  through  a  whole 
volume  of  adventures  which  had  pleased  her  that 
day  and  she  was  not  stopping  until  her  friend,  Clara 
Hopkins,  had  taken  a  mental  trip  in  the  same  di- 
rection. 

".  .  .1  could  just  about  see  that  this  couple  of 
dollars  paid  regular  once  a  month  was  going  to 
make  a  heap  of  difference  to  the  thickness  of  the 
bread  she  was  feeding  the  bunch  of  children  on. 
None  of  your  scraping,  Clara,  for  her.  I  guess 
she'd  think  as  much  of  a  good-living  stomach  as 
she  would  of  a  good-living  young  man,  and  she'd 


SAMARITAN  MARY  25 

break  up  something  tremendous  if  one  of  them 
bright- faced  children  had  to  be  refused  a  second 
help  of  the  breakfast-food,  now  advertised  at 
twenty  below  cost." 

Then  to  the  young  man  came  the  harsh  beating 
of  words  from  Clara  Hopkins'  vocal  organs. 

"  Suppose  she  was  hitting  up  some,  on  account 
of  you  having  all  the  pleasures  and  the  bother  of 
minding  Spring  after  the  accident.  Did  she  say 
she  could  stop  a  spell  ?  " 

Mary  took  her  full  time  again.  "  I  don't  mind 
sayin',  Clara,  that  she  had  me  sized  up  first  go 
as  a  sort  of  interferin'  person  with  my  mind  set 
on  makin'  a  good  deal  of  trouble  outter  the  Aunt 
Susannah  business,  and  until  I  come  to  the  part  of 
the  deal  where  I  kinder  signed  on  as  towel-flapper 
to  Spring,  she  didn't  seem  to  lose  none  of  the  scare 
in  her  eyes.  .  .  .  What's  eight  or  ten  dollars  a 
month  more  or  less  ?  " 

"  Eight  or  ten  dollars  ?  Why,  Mary,  you  had  it 
that  Spring  was  to  get  seven  a  month  .  .  .  the  way 
you  make  things  reach  out  beats  me.  ..." 

"  Well,  Clara,  I'd  as  soon  make  it  eight  or  ten 
dollars  less  my  own  side  of  the  day  ledger,  than 
have  that  Spring  lamb  double  it  under  the  extra 
weight  of  her  Aunt  Susannah,  and  her  not  even  to 
speak,  'cept  she  gets  the  kick  first  of  all  to  say 
it's  her  turn.  There's  some  folks  in  this  world  who 


26  SAMARITAN  MARY 

don't  mind  taking  another  person's  place  in  the  cor- 
ridor car  the  very  first  minit  that  person  sees  fit 
to  walk  out  of  it,  leaving  not  so  much  as  a  news- 
paper or  a  twenty-five-cent  novel  to  mark  it  as  a 
claim  if  that  person  wants  to  come  back  again. 
Now  I'm  that  person  from  yesterday,  and  I'm  sit- 
ting tight  just  where  that  Aunt  Susannah  vacated 
when  she  expected  that  bit  of  a  thing  to  step  up,  and 
play  any  tune  she  likes  to  rag,  on  account  of  her 
loosening  the  button  of  her  bank  account  by  that 
one  hole.  Sure  as  you're  sitting  there,  Clara  Hop- 
kins, she  vacated  her  auntship  .  .  .  and  I'm  going 
to  travel  a  piece  with  the  Graham  P.  lot  and  see 
something  she's  kinder  missed." 

What  happened  then  even  Clara  Hopkins  could 
not  tell.  She  strained  her  ears  and  eyes  as  far  as 
she  could  after  the  flying  feet  of  Mary,  who  had 
dashed  away  from  the  kitchen  at  the  sound  of  a 
sudden  crash  in  the  front  room  and  some  rather 
excited  masculine  shouting. 

Clara  was  pleased  that  at  last  she  heard  the  '  el- 
lergint  gentleman '  remark :  "  As  there  was  no  bell 
handy  I  had  to  fling  the  footstool  at  the  door !  " 

Mary  was  then  picking  up  the  fragments  and 
dislocated  legs  of  the  small  wooden  stool  which 
had  stood  near  his  bed,  and  made  quite  a  ragged 
tear  in  the  paint  of  the  parlor  door.  After  a  mo- 
mentary pause  her  voice  came  down  the  passage. 


SAMARITAN  MARY  27 

"  I  dunno  that  a  bell's  so  mighty  handy.  It  might 
have  gone  clean  through  the  panel  of  the  door,  and 
no  knowin'  who's  walking  down  the  other  side  of 
it." 

Mary  then  adjusted  the  shade  a  little  and  the 
light  filtered  in.  While  the  fly  escaped  somewhere 
behind  the  curtains,  she  took  observations  of  the 
young  man. 

"  I'd  be  ever  so  much  obliged,"  began  Quilter 
Lancelot  Pendren,  "  if  you  would  kindly  tell  me 
just  what  I'm  supposed  to  be  doing  here?  " 

Mary  cleared  her  throat  for  action. 

"  You're  lyin'  in  my  front  parlor  for  a  period 
of  your  holiday  or  whatever  else  you  like  to  call  it, 
and  till  such  time  as  you'll  learn  again  the  proper 
use  of  your  own  legs.  To  all  appearances  you  was 
born  in  a  set  of  lilac  bushes  just  a  bit  up  the  corner 
of  the  road.  Up  till  now  nobody  was  any  the  wiser 
but  that  the  Q.  L.  P.  on  your  valise  might  surely  be- 
long to  you.  Miss  Hetty,  her  as  owned  the  lilac 
bushes — same  as  the  priviledge  of  havin'  the  acci- 
dent right  at  her  very  front  door — had  you  down 
for  a  thorough  clean-out  today;  and  that  meaning 
that  she  never  likes  to  put  off  her  duty  to  her  parlor, 
be  as  much  as  a  hour,  I  took  it  upon  my  shoulders 
to  remove  you  here  be  the  assistance  of  Benjamin 
o'  the  yard  and  Hulky  Smith,  both  good  farm- 
helps,  and  not  a  cent  worse  off  for  knowin'  it." 


28  SAMARITAN  MARY 

She  stopped  to  pinch  the  quilt  a  little.  To  her 
eye  there  was  nothing  like  a  loose  upper  sheet  so 
that  the  person  lying  beneath  it  did  not  find  too 
much  tightness  a  strain  in  trying  to  turn  about. 

"  But  what  am  I  doing  here  at  all  ?  I  know  I 
started  out  to  go  somewhere,  but  ..." 

"  That's  a  fact !  Sure  as  my  head  you  started  out 
to  go  somewhere,  but  where  you  might  hev  got  to 
isn't  really  for  us  to  say.  Mighty  certain  it  wasn't 
a  place  you'd  hev  needed  the  things  in  that  brown 
valise,  seein'  the  speed  you  muster  got  up  at  that 
corner  where  the  greengrocery  department  had  you 
crowded."  She  pointed  to  the  brown  bag.  "  Miss 
Hetty  wanted  it  that  we  take  a  note  of  the  contents; 
but  I'm  not  good  digesting  surprises,  and  these 
times  there  might  be  anything  from  dogs  to  ex- 
plosions shipped  in  cases  like  that." 

"  You  mean  in  my  bag  ?  " 

"  I  do.  Doc  now  he's  sensible.  He  clean  sat  on 
Liz  Hetty  same  as  she  was  that  fly.  Said  as  how 
you'd  maybe  pass  out  any  benefits  you  could  spare 
after  you'd  been  through  them  yourself.  Miss 
Hetty  she's  holdin'  the  automobile  against  you; 
which  isn't  nearly  so  wrecked  to  bits  as  her  lilac 
bushes." 

"  Ah,  you've  reminded  me !  The  car !  We've  got 
so  far." 

"  Certain.     As  you  say  you've  got  so  far;  but 


SAMARITAN  MARY  29 

what  came  after  that  part  in  your  mind's  business 
isn't  for  us  to  say.  We've  only  got  you  down  as 
Q.  L.  P." 

"  That's  my  name,  of  course.  Quilter  Lancelot 
Pendren." 

Mary  nodded  her  head  calmly. 

"  We're  obliged  to  you  for  that.  Doc  Harkins 
might  like  to  communicate  with  your  folks." 

This  made  the  young  man  angry  immediately. 

"  Communicate  nothing,"  he  said  sharply. 
"  You'd  have  the  whole  bunch  down  on  me  and  I'd 
be  treated  as  a  blessed  infant." 

Mary  again  nodded. 

'  That's  what  you  got  to  s waller  for  a  week  or 
two,  anyway.  Doc  Harkins  now  ..." 

"  I  don't  mind  what  I  swallow,  but  I  won't  have 
my  people  know.  It  seems  as  if  I've  got  into  a 
mess  and  everything's  doing  Catherine  wheels  in 
my  head,  but  I'll  get  myself  out,  I  guess,  as  I  got 
myself  in.  My  father  would  go  crazy  before  he  got 
here  if  he  knew  I'd  had  a  smash-up,  and  my  sister 
.  .  .  she'd  probably  take  to  her  bed  with  nerves  if 
she  saw  me  now.  Besides  there  are  others  to  be 
considered.  Women  get  frightened  if  they  even 
smell  a  petrol  leak." 

"  If  your  father  was  to  go  crazy  before  he  got 
here,  it'd  be  unwise  to  tell  him,  maybe,  and  as  to 
your  sister,  Mr.  Pendren,  sir,  if  she  wanted  to  take 


30  SAMARITAN  MARY 

to  her  bed  right  here  I  dunno  where  we'd  put  her, 
'less  we  turned  Benjamin  in  with  the  horse." 

Mary's  humor  turned  things  a  bit  in  the  right 
direction,  and  the  young  man  laughed  quietly. 

"  I  wish  you  could  tell  me  ...  tell  me — there's 
something  I  can't  break  through." 

"  I'd  leave  it  if  I  was  you,"  said  Mary.  "  You 
done  enuff  breakin'  through  when  you  spilled  into 
Liz  Hetty's  lilac  bushes." 

"  Perhaps  it  will  all  come  presently.  I'm  just  a 
bit  off  my  wheels,  I  can  see,  and  it  won't  do  to 
force  things." 

"  You  was  clean  off  your  wheels,  sir,  that's  the 
trouble.  If  you'd  stuck  to  them,  according  to  opin- 
ions, it's  likely  you  might  have  sailed  right  along 
to  Miss  Hetty's  best  bedroom  where  you  could  have 
taken  things  easier  than  you  did  in  the  garden." 

Pendren  could  not  help  smiling. 

"  Are  you  the  nurse  or  .  .  .  or  the  boss  of  this 
establishment?  "  he  asked. 

"  I'm  both  and  the  whole  lot  in  one,  sir,  which- 
ever you  like  to  call  up  first.  My  name's  Set- 
tler, a  good  strong  name — hearty  and  encouragin' 
to  fix  your  mind  on  if  there's  anything  you  want 
doin'.  Mary  Settler,  and  what  I  can't  do  with  my 
hands,  I  generally  makes  up  with  me  tongue.  Now, 
what's  your  order,  sir,  seein'  you've  rung  the  bell 
which  is  only  an  ordinary  wooden  praying  stool." 


SAMARITAN  MARY  31 

"  I'd  like  to  get  into  some  of  my  own  clothes 
which  are  in  the  bag  there,  though  for  the  life  of 
me  I  can't  remember  .  .  .  Oh,  damn !  "  he  went  on, 
"  perhaps  we'll  know  more  about  everything  when 
we  open  the  bag." 

He  ran  his  hands  over  his  face  a  couple  of  times 
as  if  seeking  to  brush  away  unpleasant  memories 
and  reinstate  better  ones. 

Mary  brought  the  bag.     "  It's  locked,"  she  said. 

"  Then  where  the  .  .  .  oh,  I  wish  I  could  get 
more  sense  out  of  my  head.  Hunt  round  in  my 
clothes  and  see  if  there  are  any  keys.  I  don't 
seem  to  remember  even  that." 

She  brought  the  suit  he  had  been  wearing.  It 
had  been  cleaned  of  all  the  garden  soil  and  stain 
of  the  accident,  but  it  still  looked  hopelessly  crum- 
pled and  rather  like  a  second-hand  renovation. 

"  I  can't  wear  that,"  he  said,  disturbed  again. 

"  You  can't  while  you're  on  your  back,  sir,"  said 
Mary,  searching  the  pockets  for  the  keys.  "  I 
guess  it  will  be  precisely  the  thing  you'll  be  needin', 
like  you  might  want  your  breakfast,  immediately 
you  feel  ready  to  be  kicking  about  again." 

"  Oh,  what  a  shocking  mess  I've  made  of  my- 
self." 

"  No  blame  to  you,  sir.  It  was  that  rampageous 
horse." 

She  brought  out  a  handful  of  letters,  pocket- 


32  SAMARITAN  MARY 

books,  oddments,  and  finally  the  keys  from  one  of 
the  inside  pockets  of  his  coat.  Then  the  bag  was 
opened. 

A  change  of  underwear,  socks,  collars,  and  a 
pair  of  gorgeous  pyjamas  and  some  handsome 
scarlet  leather  bath  slippers  were  in  it. 

"  Looks  like  a  couple  of  days'  delay  whatever 
I  was  on,"  he  said. 

"  An'  now  it's  more  like  a  couple  of  weeks," 
Mary  put  in.  "  You'll  be  glad  of  the  underwear, 
and  we'll  get  you  into  something  respectable  right 
away." 

Pendren  looked  irritated  and  nervous. 

"  It  doesn't  tell  me  what  I  want  to  know,"  he 
said. 

"What  was  that,  sir?" 

"  What  the  deuce  I  came  to  this  part  for  at  all. 
Something's  gone  to  sleep  in  my  head.  Say,  Mrs. 
Settler  ..." 

"  Plain  Mary  if  you  don't  mind,  sir.  I  got  no 
claim  to  Mrs.  an'  it  only  reminds  me  of  the  mis- 
take I  made  long  ago." 

"A  mistake?    What  was  it?" 

"  The  mistake  of  allowin'  my  mind  to  go  gala- 
vantin'  on  ideas  I  had  no  claim  on.  You'd  like 
Benjamin  to  come  in  and  help  you,  wouldn't  you? 
And  I  don't  mind  sayin'  he'll  take  a  bath  before 
he  does.  Never  saw  such  a  chap.  It's  on  account 


SAMARITAN  MARY  33 

of  ...  Well,  that's  maybe  his  mistake  too,  but 
he'll  find  it  out.  .  .  .  Mistakes  come  home  to  roost 
same  as  chickens  do.  Mine  came  back  through  a 
very  small  hole  in  the  fence,  sneakin'  home  on  tip- 
toe, one  at  a  time.  No  matter !  I  recognize  them." 

She  went  out  of  the  room  carrying  a  fly  that 
she  had  imprisoned  in  her  plump  warm  hand.  The 
young  man  lay  there  wondering.  He  thought  that 
she  was  a  very  interesting  kind  of  person,  perhaps 
more  interesting  than  anyone  he  had  ever  met. 

Mary  returned  to  Clara,  who  had  sat  straining 
her  ears  in  the  kitchen  all  the  time. 

By  her  eyes  she  expected  much ;  but  by  the  flutter 
in  the  older  woman's  manner  she  knew  that  she 
wasn't  going  to  get  any  particulars  just  then. 

"  Just  run  up  the  yard,  Clara,  and  turn  that  Ben- 
jamin out  o'  the  turnips.  The  Q.  L.  P.,  which  is 
Pendren  by  the  last  quarter  of  it,  has  sort  of  sur- 
prised himself  and  us  by  a  fresh  turn.  I'll  just 
strain  off  a  little  of  this  barley  and  put  in  a  touch 
of  lemon.  ..." 

Clara  ran  into  the  sunlight  with  wonderful 
agility.  Mary  looked  out  of  the  door. 

Benjamin  never  looked  more  like  himself  than 
he  did  at  that  moment.  Beads  of  nervous  perspira- 
tion ran  down  his  hair  and  neck.  With  the  full 
sun  on  him,  he  might  have  been  some  great  ground 
insect  that  carried  a  hulking,  flat  body  and  strag- 


34  SAMARITAN  MARY 

gling  crooked  legs.  He  was  awkward,  genial,  and 
very  slow-minded.  When  he  bent  to  his  work  he 
did  it  in  sections  and  deliberately  uncoiled  in  jerky, 
distinct  movements  suggesting  the  opening  of  a 
something  made  to  unbend  by  arrangement  of  dif- 
ferent little  kicking  springs.  One  could  almost  hear 
a  battery  of  snaps  and  jars  as  Benjamin  o'  the  yard 
stood  to  full  height.  Clara  stopped  at  the  edge  of 
the  turnip  patch. 

"  Mary  wanted  me  to  come  ..."  she  began. 

Benjamin  wiped  his  face  by  three  or  four  dif- 
ferent movements. 

"  I  guess  ...  I  didn't  kinder  think  .  .  .  you'd 
come  ...  on  your  own  account,"  he  said. 


CHAPTER  IV 

QUILTER  LANCELOT  PENDREN  found  himself  in 
the  same  position  on  his  back  in  Mary  Settler's 
parlor  nearly  a  week  afterwards.  He  had  settled 
with  an  exceedingly  bad  grace  into  a  full-tempered 
invalid  subject  to  occasional  bursts  of  positively 
hysterical  fury.  These  Mary  dealt  with  in  her  own 
way. 

"  Nothin'  like  a  real  good  blow-off  once  in  a 
while  to  shake  up  the  liver  and  give  it  a  chance  to 
feel  it's  doing  something,"  she  said;  "I  mind  the 
time  when  Ab  Keziah,  our  preacher,  was  teachin' 
the  Sunday  School  class,  and  making  it  a  great 
matter  when  things  go  contrary-wise,  to  be  '  gentle 
as  the  dove/  and  gladsome  as  a  young  lamb  sport- 
ing in  green  pastures !  Jest  then  .  .  .  someone  gets 
up  to  go  to  the  melodian,  to  play  the  hymn  for  the 
children  to  sing :  '  Gentle  as  the  zephyr  breezes,' 
and  treads  sudden-like  on  Ab's  crop  of  corns  which 
he  wasn't  expecting.  What  Ab  says  then  wasn't 
altogether  consistent,  seeing  he  gets  worked  up 
something  awful  .  .  .  but  it  did  the  class  a  heap 
of  good,  and  done  more  than  anything  to  mak- 

35 


36  SAMARITAN  MARY 

ing  the  children  go  home,  '  Gentle  as  the  dove,' 
leavin'  Ab  more  like  a  raging  lion,  which  no- 
body minded  so  long  as  it  was  him  had  the  ex- 
perience." 

At  the  end  of  the  first  week  Pendren's  ill  humor 
had  lessened  somewhat.  He  wore  cool  clothing 
out  of  his  valise,  and  Mary  saw  to  it  that  it  was 
'  rinsed  out  regular  '  so  that  he  might  have  plenty 
of  cool  shirts  to  change  in  the  warm  weather.  The 
room  had  been  set  out  in  white  covers  and  his 
brushes  and  shaving  gear  put  handy.  The  rest  of 
the  parlor,  it  is  true,  looked  at  variance  with  these 
arrangements,  as  it  contained  the  best  of  Mary's 
traditional  hopes  and  ornaments,  stored  as  treasures 
all  her  life,  but  now  stacked  together  on  the  sofa 
and  chairs  in  reckless  abandonment. 

Pendren  eked  out  an  existence  by  trying  to  im- 
agine what  the  rest  of  the  house  might  be  like? 
Whose  voice  it  was  that  seemed  foreign  to  the 
things  around  him?  If  there  were  children,  or  a 
child  even,  who  sometimes  laughed  from  a  room 
not  very  far  away?  And  when  it  would  be  time 
to  cut  the  local  medico  out  of  things  once  and  for 
all. 

He  lay  under  the  spell  of  Mary  Settler's  good- 
ness. He  wondered  if  he  could  suggest  payment. 
Her  open  countenance  was  filled  with  a  frank  char- 
ity which  made  him  afraid  to  mention  the  subject, 


SAMARITAN  MARY  37 

but  daily  he  worked  over  these  different  points,  and 
slept  on  them.  He  never  remembered  sleeping  so 
well  before. 

The  voice  that  occasionally  came  to  him  like  a 
child's  was  that  of  Spring  Roper  lying  just  a  few 
paces  down  the  passage  to  the  left. 
•  As  the  days  grew  in  peace  and  luxury  for  her, 
she  found  herself  opening  out  toward  the  love 
and  goodheartedness  of  Mary  Settler,  as  a  flower 
opens  to  the  sun.  Mary  for  her  own  reasons  had 
kept  the  knowledge  of  the  young  man's  proximity 
from  Spring.  Mary  had  certain  little  ideas  in  her 
mind,  which,  though  scarcely  formed,  gave  her  a 
considerable  amount  of  pleasure  to  think  about,  and 
which  she  confided  to  Clara  Hopkins  one  late 
evening. 

"  Seems  like  up  till  lately  I  ain't  been  of  much 
consequence,  so  to  speak,  Clara.  Five  years  come 
Thanksgiving,  since  that  poor  soul  died  in  me  arms, 
havin'  walked  more'n  she  ought  to  get  way  from 
a  man  who  hadn't  no  notions  of  how  to  treat  his 
own  beasts,  much  less  a  wife.  You  mind  the  time 
Mrs.  Casey  died,  Clara.  There  ain't  been  much 
since,  barrin'  Benjamin's  operation  on  his  nose  and 
Jimmy  Pedler's  heart  which  carried  him  off  in  a 
fit  of  over  beer  an'  recklessness.  Can't  say  as  I've 
ever  settled  comfortable  in  me  bed  a  night  since, 
seein'  I  got  kind  of  used  to  pickin'  up  stitches 


3  8  SAMARITAN  MARY 

dropped  out  of  some  poor  soul's  constitution.  The 
Lord  gives  us  all  something  to  do,  an'  when  an  odd 
job  happens  to  be  pleasing  to  the  person,  it  comes 
like  a  chill  to  your  bones  to  be  left  idle  for  much  of 
a  while. 

"  Praise  be,  Clara,  it's  my  luck  in,  now,  to  have 
these  two  young  things  under  my  wing,  same  time. 
I'm  wonderin'  if  both  ain't  sufferin'  much  the  same 
kind  of  complaint.  Spring  wants  a  job  the  minit 
she  gets  out  of  bed  which  is  what  is  making  me 
keep  her  pinned  to  the  mattress,  till  I've  got  me 
mind  made  up  about  her.  Q.  L.  P.,  which  is  Pen- 
dren,  seems  to  want  to  hurry  his  business  same  sort 
of  way,  and  I  don't  know  if  I'm  right  to  encourage 
any  extra  special  hurry  in  either  of  them,  seeing 
the  Lord  has  put  them  both  in  my  charge  for  some 
reason  not  yet  plain." 

She  brought  her  voice  down  a  trifle. 

"  Did  it  ever  hit  you,  Clara,  in  the  right  spot  of 
your  reason,  that  all  the  books  you  read  comin' 
and  goin'  from  and  to  your  work,  was  all  took 
maybe  from  things  in  real,  human  life?  How'd 
the  man,  writing,  know  the  secret  innards  of  Lady 
Betsy  Clamphoffen's  heart  if  it  wasn't  that  he's 
met  up  with  the  same  thing  somewhere  in  the  world  ? 
You  take  it  from  me,  Clara,  books  is  made  up  from 
what's  happening  round  our  very  feet,  and  us  fool 
enough  not  to  see  it,  till  it's  put  in  black  and  white, 


SAMARITAN  MARY  39 

and  charged  twenty-five  cents,  or  half  a  dollar,  to 
take  it  home  where  perhaps  it  started." 

Clara  was  taking  her  turn  at  the  ironing,  and 
one  of  Spring's  ragged  slips  was  being  pressed 
into  shape,  ready  for  the  needle  that  Mary  had 
threaded. 

"  You  mean  Spring  and  Mr.  Pendren,  Mary  ? 
You  ain't  told  her  about  him,  have  you?" 

"  Not  a  word.  I  want  it  to  be  a  particular  kind 
of  a  double  surprise  for  both  of  them.  It's  for  all 
the  world  like  your  book,  as  I  said — that  rampa- 
geous horse,  and  Spring  tumbling  off  of  the  cart,  the 
auto,  and  the  handsome  young  man !  Where's  your 
sense,  Clara?  I'm  bringing  them  together  like  the 
pages  in  one  chapter.  There's  a  heap  of  interesting 
things  goin'  to  happen  right  in  this  very  house. 
She  don't  know  as  much  of  him  as  one  of  the  flies 
spinning  round  his  window,  and  he's  only  dreamin' 
.  .  .  dreamin'.  .  .  .  It's  some  business  he  can't 
remember  a  thing  about  is  on  his  mind.  Comes  of 
landing  on  your  head  too  sudden.  Something  that 
was  important  got  dislodged  in  that  hurry  and  fell 
out  of  his  mind  when  he  tumbled  on  his  head. 
'Tisn't  as  if  we  could  go  and  hunt  it  up,  either. 
Miss  Hetty  and  me  picked  up  all  there  was 
an'  .  .  ." 

"  Penny  Murtle  once  got  hit  too  sudden  on  the 
ground  on  account  of  falling  off  her  father's  barn 


40  SAMARITAN  MARY 

and  it  took  near  a  year  to  persuade  her  she  had  a 
head  at  all.  She  used  to  go  round  feeling  her  face 
and  saying  it  had  no  top  to  it." 

"  Poor  thing.     I  suppose  she  recovered." 

"  Oh,  yes,  she  got  over  it." 

"  How'd  she  get  over  it  ?  " 

"  Somebody  took  her  a  trip  to  Broadway  and 
showed  her  a  winder  full  of  hats.  She  found  her 
head  pretty  smart  and  came  back  with  three  of 
them  packed  in  a  hamper.  Since  then  she's  been  all 
right." 

"  So  she  oughter  with  three  heads  in  a  hamper, 
Clara." 

"  I  was  speaking  of  hats,  Mary." 

"  Wouldn't  be  any  use  takin'  Q.  L.  P.  all  the  way 
to  Broadway  and  showin'  him  a  case  of  hats,  to 
bring  back  the  piece  of  himself  he's  missing,"  Mary 
went  on.  "  It's  something  to  do  with  his  father 
and  the  sister  that  takes  to  her  bed  every  time 
there's  trouble  around.  Say,  Clara,  that  gets  me 
beat!  If  there's  trouble  around  why  should  she 
take  to  her  bed  ?  " 

"  Some  folks  can't  help  it.  They  want  to  be  out 
of  the  way."  Mary  stood  in  the  middle  of  the 
kitchen,  her  arms  hooked  at  her  hips,  and  her  face 
filled  with  wonderment. 

"  I  can't  quite  get  that,  Clara,  tryin'  to  get  out 
of  the  way  of  trouble  when  it's  comin'  straight  for 


SAMARITAN  MARY  41 

you  is  only  encouragin'  it  to  come  on,  and  make 
a  mess  of  things  generally.  What  you  want  to  do, 
is  to  put  up  your  fists  to  it.  Go  clean  and  hard  for 
it,  or  walk  right  through  it,  and  get  it  under  your 
boots,  then  when  it's  down  and  out,  jes'  wipe  your 
feet,  and  scrape  your  boots  on  the  door  iron.  That's 
how  I'd  serve  trouble,  but  say — this  bit  that's 
wearin'  Q.  L.  P.  to  a  frazzle,  if  we  could  get  that 
part  hitched  to  the  rest  of  him,  he'd  be  a  pretty  fair 
sample  of  a  successful  invalid." 

"What  does  Doc  say?" 

"  Doc  wants  it  that  he  lies  quiet  for  a  time;  but 
I  see  no  chance  of  a  calm  sea  till  he  gets  back  his 
reason  for  comin'  across  that  accident  at  all.  Now 
I'm  thinkin'  about  those  hats  o'  Penny  Murtle's. 
Looks  like  they  was  the  most  needed  thing  to  re- 
mind her  she  had  a  top  to  her  head.  If  we  could 
think  up  something  and  spring  it  sudden  on  the 
gentleman  in  my  parlor,  it  might  just  happen  his 
machinery  might  get  a  jump  and  start  off  same  as 
if  it  was  adjusted  by  means  of  a  screw  and  a  little 
oiling." 

"  I  wonder  what  his  business  is,  Mary." 

"  Mostly  changing  his  clothes  three  times  a  day, 
and  eating  his  dinner  when  it  ought  to  be  supper, 
I  should  say.  He's  soft  goods,  Clara,  made  one 
width,  easy  crumpled,  and  selvedge  down  both 
sides.  There's  silk  socks  in  his  bag  and  .  .  ." 


42  SAMARITAN  MARY 

"How  many,  Mary?  That's  the  way  to  work 
it  out." 

"  There's  four  pair  off  him  and  the  ones  he 
accidented  in." 

Clara  looked  knowing. 

"  That  means,  the  business  he  was  on  would  take 
him  five  weeks  at  least,  if  he  was  allowing  one  pair 
a  week." 

Mary  considered  and  shook  her  head. 

"  Won't  work  with  only  one  change  of  under- 
clothes. S'pose  he  set  out  from  home  with  a  fresh 
lot,  and  this  one  to  change ;  that  allows  him  a  week, 
and  a  second  week,  allowin'  the  weather  don't' 
warm  up  too  much  to  be  uncomfortable." 

She  strode  over  to  Clara  and  emphasized  her 
words  by  laying  her  hands  broad  side  on  the  table. 

"  Clara,  I've  got  it !  Q.  L.  P.  is  on  business  that 
is  open  to  keep  him  a  week  or  two,  or  less." 

"  Did  he  bring  any  nightshirt  with  him,  Mary  ?  " 

Mary  backed  to  the  stove. 

"  Now  we're  off  the  track  again.  There  was  one 
pair  of  pyjamas,  double-striped,  with  bunches  of 
colored  cord  across  the  front  jes'  like  he  was  play- 
in'  the  drum  in  the  new  town  band." 

"  One  pair  of  pyjamas?  "  That  certainly  settled 
Clara's  argument. 

"  I  should  calc'late  on  the  one  pair  lasting  him 
a  week  or  more.  What  'd  you  say,  Clara?  " 


SAMARITAN  MARY  43 

"  I  guess  we're  out  of  this,  Mary,  neither  of  us 
bein'  married  women." 

"  Married  women  don't  count  as  much  as  a  hill 
o'  beans  in  this,  Clara.  We've  got  to  find  out  some- 
thing satisfactory,  or  we're  not  doing  our  best  by 

Q.  L.  R" 

"  Could  we  ask  someone,  Mary?  " 

"Ask  'em  what?" 

"  How  long  a  gentleman  as  ellergint  as  any  in 
the  top  set  of  New  York  or  Boston  allows  for  one 
pair  of  pyjamas  to  last  decent  without  getting  them 
laundered?  Mary  .  .  .  p'r'aps  Benjamin  could 
tell  us." 

Mary  put  up  a  finger. 

"  Benjamin  couldn't  recognize  a  pair  of  pyjamas 
from  what  them  chaps  in  the  wild  west  shows  wears. 
He's  more  used  to  a  common,  ordinary,  old- 
fashioned  nightshirt,  or  what  he's  been  workin'  in 
be  the  day." 

"  Well,  we  ain't  getting  any  towards  knowin' 
Pendren's  business,  Mary." 

"  I  got  it  that  Q.  L.  P.  started  out  in  his  own 
auto  with  something  important  in  his  mind  because 
of  it  requiring  all  his  attention,  and  no  side-trackin', 
or  stoppin'  for  refreshment  by  the  way." 

"  But  what  was  the  something  important, 
Mary?" 

"  Oh,   keep  shut  there,   Clara,   and  give  me  a 


44  SAMARITAN  MARY 

chance!    I  got  it  that  Q.  L.  P.  had  a  mind  to  stop 
as  little  as  he  could  over  the  business,  and  jes'  threw 
careless-like  a  change  of  clo'es  into  his  valise  'cos 
his  man  wasn't  handy  to  pack." 
Clara's  eyes  sparkled. 

"  There's  something  real  true  in  that,  Mary." 
"  Sure  as  life  there  is.  Now  why  wasn't  his  man 
handy  to  pack  ?  Because  his  father  was  behind  him 
slappin'  round  with  his  tongue,  and  hettin'  up  some- 
thing tremendous  to  get  Q.  L.  P.  started." 
"  But  why?  What  was  the  business?  " 
"  Q.  L.  P.  dashes  for  the  elevator,"  Mary  went 
on,  as  if  she  were  not  stopping  any  side  of  the 
finish,  "  presses  the  button  twice  to  bring  it  to  the 
ninth  floor,  keeps  pressin'  to  make  it  pull  up  imme- 
diate, steps  in  with  his  valise  in  one  hand,  and  a 
lump  of  the  elevator  in  the  other,  to  keep  him  bal- 
anced, quits  the  ninth  floor  as  if  he  had  put  his 
feet  into  something  that  had  no  bottom  to  it,  slides 
down  like  a  rush  of  cold  air  in  a  wind  flue,  steps 
out  again  like  a  flash  of  lightning,  presses  the  button 
to  send  the  elevator  back  to  the  shed,  and  rushes 
blind  for  the  auto  house.  He  stows  his  valise  under 
the  seat,  hitches  up  the  electric  meter,  not  waitin' 
to  kiss  anybody  good-by,  or  even  to  wave  his  hand- 
kerchief; and  inside  two  minutes  he's  .  .  .  right  in 
front  of  things.  Then  ..." 

Suddenly  she  paused  and  caught  Clara's  eye.    It 


SAMARITAN  MARY  45 

was  another  fixed  query  there  that  made  her  falter. 

"  Seems  like  there  oughter  be  a  woman  in  it, 
Clara,  to  be  exactly  right, — still " 

"  Mary,  perhaps  he  was  settin'  out  to  get  mar- 
ried." 

Clara  thought  that  Mary's  solutions  suggested 
such  a  possibility. 

"  With  five  pairs  of  silk  socks,  and  one  pair  of 
pyjamas,  and  as  handsome  a  pair  of  red  bath 
slippers  as  would  go  on  anyone's  feet  without  ob- 
jecting to  being  walked  on?  " 

"  Bath  slippers  ?  You  didn't  mention  them  be- 
fore, Mary.  That's  a  clean  case  of  his  expecting 
to  stop  over  a  fortnight.  Whatever  it  was,  his 
business  meant  him  to  stop  a  couple  of  weeks,  Mary. 
I  can  see  that." 

Mary  passed  over  this.  "  More  like  he  was  out 
to  hunt  down  a  man.  If  there's  been  women  in  it, 
he'd  be  sure  to  carry  a  difference  in  colored  shirts 
and  some  extra  wrist  cuffs  to  tidy  up  when  he  hadn't 
time  to  change  all  his  clothes.  Look  here,  Clara,  it 
all  points  the  one  way  same  as  a  finger-board  on 
the  subway.  There  was  mortal  hurry  for  Q.  L.  P., 
or  he  was  going  to  miss  something  for  sure.  He 
was  going  ...  to  ...  hunt  ...  a  man  .  .  . 
down." 

"  In  a  pair  of  bath  slippers  and  five  pairs  of  silk 
socks?  I  don't  agree  to  that,  Mary." 


46  SAMARITAN  MARY 

"Well,  I'll  agree  on  me  own!  Listen  to  me, 
Clara.  Five  pair  of  socks  just  about  does  the  trick 
if  it's  a  man  he's  chasing.  Why  five  pairs?  Be- 
cause he's  going  good  and  hard  and  needs  a  change 
pretty  regular  or  his  feet  would  sweat  him  to 
blisters." 

"  But  he  don't  use  his  feet  in  an  auto." 

"  He  was  calc'lating,  maybe,  on  the  breakdown 
of  the  auto  and  was  ready  to  take  his  walking  ticket 
any  minit.  Whatever  got  in  his  way,  Q.  L.  P.  was 
ready  to  run  clean  through  it,  like  Liz  Hetty's 
lilac  bushes." 

"  He  didn't  mean  to  run  clean  through  them, 
Mary.  More  like,"  Clara  hushed  her  voice,  "  he  did 
mean  to  run  through  somebody  who'd  done  him  a 
harm,  or  his  father." 

"  That  sounds  real  good.  We're  a  parcel  of  pri- 
vate sheriffs,  I  should  say."  Mary  agreed  by  a  flash 
of  her  eyes  and  went  on  quickly. 

"  Now  the  person  he's  after  must  'v  been  handling 
the  till  too  easy,  or  workin'  the  confidence  trick  on 
somebody  belonging  to  the  family.  Whatever  it  is, 
it's  a  serious  business  concern,  for  that  young  man 
is  business  from  his  brains  to  his  toes.  Land,  Clara, 
the  way  he  kicks  the  bedclothes  off  him  when  he's 
thorough  mad !  Oh,  he's  business  all  right,  though 
he's  that  good-looking  he  might  be  travelin'  two 
trunks  and  a  bag  o'  golf  sticks ! " 


SAMARITAN  MARY  4? 

"  You  think  he's  hunting  a  man,  Mary?  " 

"  That's  the  color  of  it,  Clara." 

"  And  he  ain't  likely  to  be  appreciatin'  an  inter- 
ruption ! " 

"  I  wouldn't  put  it  past  him  to  scent  something 
out  of  the  way,  special  and  worth  hanging  around 
for,  if  he  was  to  see  Spring  passing  his  door." 

"  You  think  that  Spring  'd  stop  him  chasing  busi- 
ness as  important  as  you've  just  said?  " 

"  I  think  she'd  stop  him  if  he  had  that  same  busi- 
ness by  the  tail  of  its  shirt,  and  extra  good  material 
in  the  making,  to  give  him  a  long  chance.  She's 
picking  up  color  and  flesh  every  day,  poor  lamb. 
Once  he  catches  sight  of  Spring  ..." 

Clara  held  up  the  frayed  shirtwaist  she  had  been 
ironing  as  a  warning  to  Mary. 

"  Look  at  that !  If  he  catches  sight  of  her  in 
that,  he  won't  be  forgetting  his  business  for  long. 
Ain't  she  got  nothing  better  in  her  trunks?  Her 
mother  told  Benjamin  she'd  be  sending  along  her 
best  dress  and  a  set  of  underclothes." 

"  I  been  thinkin',  Clara."  Mary's  eyes  softened 
from  the  story  to  something  nearer  her  heart. 

"  I  been  thinkin',  there's  the  fruit  money  ..." 

"  That  fruit  money's  been  stretched  longer  and 
longer  every  week.  You'd  think  it  was  a  roll  of 
bills  as  long  as  from  here  to  Jake  Heldy's  store !  " 

Mary  said  nothing,  for  Clara  was  looking  right 


48  SAMARITAN  MARY 

at  her  and  there  were  certain  lights  of  suspicion  in 
her  eyes. 

"  I've  known  three  lots  of  folks  have  a  peck  at 
that  little  bit  of  profit  in  the  last  two  months,"  Clara 
said.  "  Sure  to  goodness,  Mary,  it  ain't  elastic. 
What's  left  of  it  wouldn't  buy  more'n  a  pair  of 
stockin's,  double-heeled  and  extra  thick  knees,  I 
should  say." 

"  Well,  there's  always  Hek  Dean  to  loan  me  a 
little  till  next  crop  of  potatoes,  Clara.  You  don't 
count  your  blessings  as  you  should." 

Clara  looked  defiant. 

"  My  blessings  don't  come  outter  givin'  up  every- 
thing but  the  clo'es  on  my  back,  as  yours  do,  Mary. 
And  if  Hek  Dean  loans  you  any  money  it  will  be 
on  the  property,  and  everybody  knows  that  Hek  has 
had  his  eyes  on  this  piece  since  you  made  it  any- 
thing at  all." 

"  Havin'  his  eye  on  my  property  won't  hurt  no- 
body, or  me,"  said  Mary.  "  He's  fair  nice  to  me 
always  when  I  mention  a  bit  of  business  to  him." 

Clara  shot  her  head  forward  and  held  up  one 
hand. 

"  Mary,  say  .  .  .  you  been  having  a  deal  with 
Hek  already?  I  can  see  something  kind  of  unset- 
tled in  your  eyes  now." 

Mary  blew  an  imaginary  speck  of  dust  from  a 
cup  of  milk  she  was  preparing  for  Spring  as  a 


SAMARITAN  MARY  49 

nightcap.  There  really  was  no  need  for  the  action 
except  as  a  means  of  avoiding  Clara's  eyes.  Clara 
had  an  uncomfortable  way  of  getting  folks  into  a 
corner,  when  she  thought  that  a  corner  was  the 
proper  place  for  them. 

Mary  was  not  ready  to  face  her  for  a  minute  or 
two. 

"  I  ain't  had  business  with  Hek  for  quite  a  year, 
and  that's  a  fact,"  she  said. 

She  placed  a  fringed  napkin  on  a  small  tray  and 
put  the  cup  of  milk  ready  with  a  cracker. 

"  That  means  you've  had  business  with  him  al- 
ready anyhow,  and  him  holdin'  a  bill  over  your 
head,  I  suppose,  if  you  ain't  paid  it  back." 

"  Hek  and  me  understands  each  other,  Clara. 
That  reminds  me  I  must  find  time  to  run  over  to- 
morrow if  things'll  let  me.  Hek's  girl  as  married 
Mark  Spinney  ought  to  be  up  to  her  time  now  and 
all  hands  needed  with  the  baby.  Say,  Clara,  do  you 
think  she'll  take  it  well?  She's  uncommon  fretful 
over  a  bit  of  a  burnt  finger,  times." 

Clara  tied  on  her  cape  and  took  up  her  hat  irri- 
tably. 

"  Cora  Spinney's  not  the  kind  to  find  it  any  better 
whether  it's  a  burnt  finger,  or  a  baby.  I'll  come 
over  Saturday,  Mary,  and  read  to  Spring.  Good 
night." 

Mary  went  to  the  door  with  her.    Her  eyes  were 


50  SAMARITAN  MARY 

steadier  now  and  she  arranged  Clara's  cape  with 
trembling  fingers. 

"  You  do  be  in  a  mortal  hurry  some  nights, 
Clara." 

"  I  got  things  on  me  mind  that  needs  a  long  sleep 
off,"  said  Clara. 

"  If  you're  not  too  busy  next  week,  I'd  be  glad 
of  a  hand  makin'  up  that  piece  of  colored  muslin  I 
got  from  the  store.  Spring  won't  be  easy  much 
longer  on  the  flat  of  her  back,  and  I'm  scared  some 
that  Q.  L.  P.  might  discover  her  just  as  she  is, 
which  is  hardly  decent,  she's  that  much  out  of 
things." 

"  When  did  you  get  that  piece  of  colored  muslin, 
Mary?  I  never  heard  of  it  before." 

There  was  ice  in  Clara's  words.  Mary  folded 
her  hands  to  keep  them  still. 

"  I  got  it  up  Jake  Heldy's  store.  It  was  the  last 
of  the  roll — and  only  lying  there  for  the  dust  to 
settle  on.  I  got  it  bargain  rates  and  ..." 

"  An'  you'll  be  payin'  it  outter  the  fruit  money 
which  has  all  been  used  long  ago  settlin'  up  other 
people's  affairs." 

Mary  smiled,  and  the  light  of  the  evening  sky  lit 
up  her  face  in  the  doorway. 

"  Out  of  that  ...  or  the  potato  crop,"  she  said, 
and  Clara  walked  away  without  another  word. 

"  It's  real  nice  of  Clara  to  be  so  mad  about  the 


SAMARITAN  MARY  51 

property,"  Mary  told  herself,  and  stood  some  time 
staring  across  the  fields  to  where  Hek  Dean's  little 
house  sat  squat,  and  faintly  marked  by  the  night 
lights  against  the  open  sky. 


CHAPTER  V 

"  CLARA  will  be  over  in  half  an  hour,"  said  Mary 
Settler,  fixing  on  her  things  to  go  and  call  on  Mrs. 
Spinney.  "  She's  bringing  her  book  to  read  you  a 
piece,  and  it  won't  do  you  a  morsel  of  harm  to  rest 
a  bit  longer,  seein'  you've  been  kinder  bringing  up 
a  family  before  you've  even  got  the  start  of  one 
yourself. 

"  What  you  don't  know  about  your  mother's  chil- 
dren ain't  yet  been  found  out,  and  I'm  not  handing 
on  any  information  that's  merely  a  bundle  of  knots 
for  other  people  to  try  and  unravel.  A  live  wire 
spittin'  up  sparks,  regular  as  should  be,  ain't  been 
doin'  duty  to  the  main  machinery  any  less  than 
you've  been  doin'  yours  to  your  mother,  I  should 
say;  and  you  can  take  a  couple  of  weeks  off 
now  without  wearin'  your  heart  out  rubbin'  it 
against  your  soul  in  arguments  about  a  waste  of 
time." 

"  But  I  must  find  something  to  do  .  .  .  pres- 
ently," said  Spring. 

"  You  won't  be  needin'  a  pair  of  opera  glasses  to 
help  you  search  it  out,"  Mary  continued.  "  When 
that  little  job  comes  along  I  don't  mind  sayin'  it'll 

52 


SAMARITAN  MARY  53 

be  just  about  as  nice  a  lookin'  thing  as  ever  suited 
a  girl  of  your  particular  kind.  You  see  if  it  ain't 
a  regular  heart  to  heart,  confidential,  understanding 
kinder  job !  Don't  you  go  worrying  your  head,  any- 
way. I'd  recognize  that  identical  ladylike  sort  of 
stunt,  in  the  dark,  if  it  was  trying  to  give  us  the 
hide-and-seek  dodge.  I'm  going  to  bring  it  to  the 
hitching  post,  if  I've  got  to  go  out  and  carry  it  in, 
struggling,  in  my  two  hands  .  .  .  and  remember, 
it  ain't  no  kind  of  common  chore  either.  Once 
Mary  Settler's  foot  goes  down  on  a  thing,  that  thing 
is  as  good  as  trapped.  I'm  wide  awake  on  it,  Lovey, 
and  you  hold  on  to  that  and  put  all  your  chips  on 
me." 

She  came  to  the  foot  of  the  bed  where  Spring 
Roper  lay,  and  lifted  a  piece  of  material  that  had 
been  carefully  cut  into  a  simple  house  frock.  The 
hem  at  the  bottom  was  neatly  turned  up,  but  the 
tape  facing  had  not  been  sewn  down. 

"  That's  another  good  and  proper  reason  why 
you  shouldn't  be  fretting  about  gettin'  out  of  bed. 
No  high-minded  girl  would  be  wanting  to  wear  a 
thing  like  that,  unfinished." 

Spring  stretched  out  two  shell-tinted  slender 
arms. 

"  Oh,  is  it  for  me,  Mary  ?    Really  for  me  ?  " 

"  Well  ..."  Mary  held  it  out,  "  it's  not  exactly 
the  kinder  thing  me  or  Benjamin,  or  even  Clara, 


54  SAMARITAN  MARY 

who's  figure  hasn't  gone  to  ghost's  yet  a  bit,  would 
be  thinkin'  of  wading  into." 

She  left  the  dress  hanging  near  the  foot  of  the 
bed  and  turned  to  go. 

"  Sure  it's  for  you,  Spring;  and  if  the  potatoes 
is  good  this  year,  an'  don't  need  the  eye-doctor, 
which  is  after  all  only  an  ordinary  kitchen  knife 
turned  once  or  twice  in  precisely  the  same  spot, 
and  if  there's  no  heavy  trouble  with  blight  or  other 
contagions,  it's  more  than  likely  Jake  Heldy,  the 
storekeeper,  will  be  takin'  a  trip  to  town  to  search 
out  other  things  suitable  to  that  bit  of  colored  mus- 
lin." 

She  went  through  the  door  without  saying 
good-by.  It  was  part  of  her  splendid  philosophy 
that  when  one  said  "  Good-by "  one  necessarily 
meant  good-by;  and  she  herself  never  wished  to 
bring  about  any  such  thing  when  taking  temporary 
leave  of  a  person  she  desired  to  see  again. 

"  Good  morning  or  good  night  don't  happen  to  be 
such  a  compromise  on  one  as  '  Good-by,'  "  she  said 
once.  "  When  I've  done  with  Hek  Dean,  or  Jake 
Heldy,  and  them  both  paid  off,  and  nothin'  owing 
to  spoil  the  stamped  receipt  I'm  holdin'  against 
them,  then  it's  good-by  good  and  proper." 

Mary  Settler  had  gone  off  to  do  her  visiting,  leav- 
ing Spring  Roper  in  the  one  room  across  the  pas- 
sage, and  the  "  ellergint  gentleman,"  in  the  other 


SAMARITAN  MARY  55 

across  the  same  passage.  She  had  not  mentioned  to 
either  of  the  young  people  that  their  rooms  were 
separated  only  by  a  stretch  of  amber  sunlight  that 
filtered  in  through  the  passage  door,  and  that  the 
only  chaperon  they  were  likely  to  have  until  Clara 
Hopkins  and  her  book  arrived  was  a  merry  and  par- 
ticularly discreet  sunbeam. 

To  forward  her  own  schemes,  Mary  had  not  even 
whispered  of  the  young  man's  adventure.  She  knew 
that  the  girl  would  have  begged  to  get  out  of  bed 
if  she  had  imagined  that  anyone  else  was  ill  in  the 
house  also;  and  Mary  was  not  ready  for  this.  Pen- 
dren  had  been  surly  and  inclined  to  be  feverish  and 
muddled  at  times,  and  the  doctor  had  advised  no 
immediate  action  on  Mary's  part  other  than  that 
suggested  by  Pendren  himself. 

All  the  time  he  had  lain  there,  the  man  had  only 
one  special  appeal.  His  business  needed  his  rapid 
recovery.  It  must  be  understood  that  when  there 
was  the  slightest  chance  of  getting  himself  and  the 
car  into  anything  like  running  order  again,  he  must 
not  be  delayed  at  any  cost. 

His  head  was  stupid,  he  told  Mary  one  day,  as 
she  swarmed  over  the  floor  with  a  polishing  rag, 
and  made  comments  from  any  position  she  hap- 
pened to  be  in,  even  if  it  was  just  under  the  fringe 
of  his  bedcover. 

"  Wheels,"    he    said,    "  cursed    wheels    running 


5  6  SAMARITAN  MARY 

round  and  round  and  round  in  my  head.  They 
never  seem  to  stop." 

Mary  had  paused  with  the  floor  cloth  in  hand. 
Her  eyes  widened  as  she  came  out  of  the  dark  from 
beneath  his  bed  to  the  splash  of  light  that  cut  in  a 
bright  shaft  through  the  window. 

"  It's  a  wonder  to  me,"  she  said,  "  that  you 
haven't  been  clean  run  over  in  these  two  last  days. 
Must  be  something  terrible  to  have  all  that  traffic 
spinning  round  in  your  head." 

It  was  the  same  day  he  had  asked  her  to  bring 
him  his  pocketbook  that  he  might  try  to  work  out 
a  little  of  the  trouble  which  seemed  to  be  causing 
the  congestion  of  ideas  in  his  brain. 

"  It's  that  piece  of  business  jes'  eating  your  mind 
like  a  worm,"  she  went  on,  searching  for  the  pocket- 
book  and  hoping  that  there  might  be  something  in 
it  to  give  him  a  trifle  of  peace. 

While  she  adjusted  the  room,  young  Pendren  had 
fidgeted  and  fussed  with  shaking  fingers  among  the 
contents  of  his  pocketbook.  There  was  only  his  long 
indrawing  of  breath  and  the  gradual  letting  out  of 
it  again  to  break  the  silence.  Mary  rummaged 
about  and  tried  to  appear  easy,  though  she  was  far 
from  it. 

'  There's  nothing  here,"  said  Pendren  at  last. 
"  But  I  think  I've  got  a  grip  of  something.  It  all 
came  so  suddenly  ..." 


SAMARITAN  MARY  57 

"Did  he  take  much  money?"  Mary  took  her 
first  plunge,  thinking  to  help  him  as  well  as  herself. 

The  young  man  looked  steadily  at  her. 

"  How  did  you  know  ?  " 

"  Well,  I  guessed  there  was  larceny,  or  embez- 
zlement, in  it." 

"  Ah  .  .  .  now  we're  getting  at  it.  You  are  put- 
ting me  right  on  the  track.  Now  wait  a  min- 
ute. ..." 

Mary  felt  for  once  in  her  life  that  she  could  not 
wait  half  as  long.  She  had  never  been  so  inter- 
ested in  anything  in  all  her  life  as  the  arranging  of 
this  little  plan  of  hers,  and  to  get  it  going  smoothly 
needed  a  clear  passage  first  of  all. 

Two  minutes  passed.    He  struggled  to  his  elbow. 

"  Say,  do  you  know  anybody  about  these  parts 
of  the  name  of  ...  of  ...  Roper?" 

The  woman  reeled  as  if  shot.  "  Name  of  what?  " 
she  said  uncertainly. 

"  Roper.    I  think  I've  got  it  right." 

"  Better  make  sure."  She  was  palpitating  so 
much  that  she  thought  her  heart  was  rising  to  choke 
her. 

"  Yes.  Here  it  is,  in  the  notebook.  Graham  P. 
Roper.  That's  the  man." 

"  Is  it  him  you're  after?  "  Mary  nearly  screamed; 
but  the  calm  of  her  nature  brought  her  voice  down 
to  normal. 


58  SAMARITAN  MARY 

"  Well,  I  want  to  get  him  first  of  all.  He's  in 
it,  of  course,  but  I'm  not  anxious  to  make  a  friend 
of  him,  you  may  be  sure.  Do  you  know  anything 
about  him?  Can  I  get  in  touch  easily  without  his 
knowing  it  ?  " 

Mary  spread  her  hands  on  her  heart.  Then  she 
held  them  up  to  stop  him  saying  any  more. 

"  Praise  be.  You  can't  touch  him  any  kind  of 
way  if  you  was  to  engage  the  longest  arm  of  a 
steam  crane  and  hitch  it  to  a  hundred  fire  ladders. 
He's  beyond  that.  ..." 

"  Then  he's  dead.    Thank  goodness !  " 
"  Don't  go  thanking  so  easy.     Sure,  he's  dead, 
and  higher  up  than  the  power  of  the  law  of  the 
land." 

"  Did  he  leave  any  family  or  a  widow?  " 
"  Jest  a  bunch  of  hard  workers  that's  ..." 
"  Hard  workers  ?     Have  they  got  any  money  ?  " 
Mary  considered.     She  thought  that  she  ought 
to  go  slowly. 

'  They're  mostly  women  folks,  I  think,  but  ... " 
"  Ah,  then  we  can  fight  them  easily." 
He  fell  back  on  his  bed,  gasping,  his  tension  of 
thought  relaxed. 
Mary  flashed  round. 

"Depends,"  she  said.  "Women  is  apt  to  be 
hefty  at  times.  If  it  ain't  with  their  fists  it's  with 
other  things  nature's  give  them.  You  beware  of 


SAMARITAN  MARY  59 

nature,  young  man.  It  can  strike  harder  sometimes 
than  a  man's  blows.  What's  the  use,  anyway,  when 
Graham  P.  is  dead?  " 

Pendren  paused  and  spoke  slowly.  He  was  rather 
spent  with  the  excitement. 

"  Yes  .  .  .  you're  right.  Anyway  we'll  leave  it, 
meantime,  and  I'll  write  to  my  father  later  on  when 
I'm  .  .  .  I'm  easier  a  bit." 

Mary  had  flown  to  the  kitchen  for  a  refreshing 
drink  to  repair  the  effects  of  the  exertion  he  had 
gone  through.  Her  mind  was  wheeling  like  a  bird 
over  some  newly  found  prey.  Any  minute  she 
would  be  able  to  swoop  down  and  pick  up  fresh 
information  that  would  help  her  work  out  a  solution 
perhaps  to  help  the  family  that  she  had  practically 
taken  under  her  wing. 

That  night  she  confided  her  news  to  the  ever  re- 
ceptive Clara. 

"  Sure  it  was  a  man  he  was  hunting  down.  Sakes 
alive,  and  it  was  that  dear,  dead  man  belonging  to 
the  .  .  .  Ropers."  She  whispered  every  word  and 
scarcely  said  the  last  one. 

Clara  opened  her  mouth  and  turned  crimson.  She 
was  agitated  beyond  expression.  It  was  as  if  she 
were  living  in  the  pages  of  something  she  had  been 
lying  awake  all  hours  to  read.  She  was  afraid  to 
speak. 

"  You   keep   shut,    Clara,"    Mary   admonished. 


6o  SAMARITAN  MARY 

"  Whatever  comes  of  this  trouble,  the  only  way  to 
stop  a  fight  is  to  push  Spring  forward  into  the  ring, 
and  let  her  use  her  innercent  eyes  and  ways  to 
entangle  him.  I  believe  in  that  sort  of  thing  and  it 
always  works  if  there's  good  material  in  the  net. 
You  get  me,  Clara  ?  He'll  let  the  whole  bunch  of? 
with  a  very  small  amount  of  fist  work  if  he  knows 
Spring  through.  It's  likely  too  he'll  hand  out  some- 
thing handsome,  'stead  of  punches,  if  he  gets  in 
touch  with  that  silver,  pool-eyed  bit  of  a  thing  as 
is  ma  to  my  little  lamb.  But  we  must  go  slow  a  bit. 
Shove  Spring  forward  first  chance  he's  feeling  like 
anything  out  of  bed.  Land,  to  think  of  all  this 
going  on  in  my  very  house,  under  my  very  nose, 
and  me  not  smelling  it  until  this  very  day !  " 

She  also  pumped  the  girl  a  little,  very  gently. 

"  Speakin'  of  your  poppa  and  his  ways  of  tryin' 
to  make  good  for  the  early  bunch  of  you,  Spring, 
was  he  ever  be  his  own  right  settled  in  a  business, 
maybe  canned  meat,  or  soap,  or  somethin' — other 
than  the  red-hot  machinery  of  the  Pynes  folks? 
Might  he  hev  ever  left  your  mother  a  shade 
of  a  while  to  settle  in,  say,  New  York,  or  there- 
abouts?" 

"He  often  left  us,"  said  Spring.  "  But  he  al- 
ways sent  mother  the  money  he  got  for  working 
away.  And  he  came  back  again  every  Saturday 
night,  or  Thanksgiving,  or  Christmas,  and  we  had 


SAMARITAN  MARY  61 

a  good  time  then!  We  were  very  fond  of  father, 
even  if  he  didn't  ever  make  much  good  at  his  busi- 
ness. He  was  clever  at  teaching  us,  and  he  could 
recite  beautiful  poetry  he'd  made  up  while  he  was 
away  at  his  work.  Mostly  it  was  about  mother.  I 
know  quite  a  lot  of  it." 

Mary  nodded  slowly.  She  had  gained  something 
out  of  this,  but  it  was  not  altogether  practical. 

"  Yes,  I  know  the  kind,  Lovey.  Makes  your  eyes 
run  from  the  start  of  the  piece.  You  get  unsettled 
in  your  throat  and  your  stomach  direckly  the  piece 
is  give  out  by  the  preacher  and  the  person  sayin' 
it  comes  on  the  stage  to  bow.  So  your  poppa  was 
a  clever  head  at  making  words.  Well,  it  reminds 
me  of  a  parrot  my  ma  had  that  roamed  the  kitchen 
as  frequent  as  the  flies,  on'y  more  welcome.  Sakes 
alive,  that  bird  could  talk,  Spring.  He'd  fix  his  eye 
on  the  sugar  bowl  or  the  cracker  box,  and  he'd  start 
out,  express  behind  you,  and  you  listening  with  both 
ears  and  busy  with  your  eyes  on  something.  When 
he'd  finished  talking  a  good  long  while,  he'd  desert. 
And  with  him  would  go  a  piece  of  sugar,  or  some- 
thing out  of  a  box  with  no  lid  on.  He  was  a  cute 
one  and  no  argument.  Always  talking,  talking,  talk- 
ing !  'And  off  with  something  when  your  back  was 
turned." 

Spring's  eyes  were  wide  with  amazement. 

"  Why,  father  wasn't  a  bit  like  that !    He'd  recite 


62  SAMARITAN  MARY 

the  most  perfect  pieces,  but  he  wouldn't  steal  things 
while  he  did  it." 

Mary  calmed  her. 

"  Land,  Spring,  whatever  put  that  into  your  head  ? 
Why,  I  wouldn't  hev  thought  that  about  the  curious 
talking  bird.  You  see,  he  was  some  absent-minded. 
It's  mostly  the  case  with  folks  that  has  a  lot  to  say 
in  somebody  else's  kitchen.  Jes'  a  mite  absent- 
minded.  That's  all  it  is." 

Since  the  incident  in  Pendren's  room,  Mary  re- 
mained quiet.  Quilter  Lancelot  Pendren  said  no 
more  about  his  business.  The  trouble  on  his  mind 
kept  him  in  a  most  querulous  mood.  He  was  still 
simmering  when  Mary  went  off  to  visit  Hek  Dean's 
daughter,  Cora  Spinney,  and  this  very  action  in 
leaving  the  house  helped  the  developments  Mary  had 
set  her  heart  on  considerably,  although  really  Cora 
Spinney  had  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  it. 


CHAPTER  VI 

HALF  an  hour  passed ;  but  Clara  Hopkins  had  not 
arrived  with  her  book.  To  Spring,  who  lay  watch- 
ing a  large  cantankerous  fly  on  the  window  shade, 
it  seemed  more  than  half  an  hour  that  Mary  had 
been  gone  to  make  her  call  on  Cora  Spinney. 

The  house  was  very  still.  Up  in  the  fields  Ben- 
jamin worked  at  his  row  and  cautioned  a  weary- 
eyed  horse  every  now  and  then. 

"  Guess  you  think  I'm  a  kind  of  near  relation 
owing  you  money  and  not  in  a  hurry  to  pay  you 
back  again,"  he  said,  slapping  the  nose  of  the  crea- 
ture suddenly  and  playfully.  "  I'm  more  of  a  per- 
fect stranger  to  you,  old  hoss,  till  I've  finished  here. 
Shunt!  Yussuh!" 

The  afternoon  wore  on  and  the  sunbeam  stole 
away  from  the  passage  between  the  two  rooms. 

Spring  Roper  began  to  dream  slowly;  the  fly  sang 
an  accompaniment  to  her  dreams.  Presently  she 
noticed  it,  and  sat  up  in  bed,  stretching  out  a  deli- 
cate, entreating  hand.  The  fly  hummed  and  de- 
scribed an  invisible  circle  round  and  round  the  room. 

"Oh,  don't,  don't  do  that!"  Spring  cried. 
"  You're  like  me,  you  can't  get  out,  even  though 

63 


64  SAMARITAN  MARY 

the  door  is  open.  Why  don't  you  go  through  ?  Be- 
cause you're  silly  like  I  am.  I  could  get  up  this 
minute  and  go  out  and  work;  but  I  don't,  because 
really  I  don't  want  to." 

Across  the  passage  the  young  man  heard  the  full 
soft  voice;  but  he  took  it  that  somebody  else  would 
answer  the  voice,  and  waited.  Only  the  tap,  tap  of 
beating  wings  on  the  blind  came  through  the  doors. 

"  I  wish  you'd  stop,  fly."  The  voice  came  clearer, 
for  the  fly  was  humming  in  another  corner  and  had 
stopped  slapping  the  blind.  "If  I'd  gone  to  my 
Aunt  Susannah  now  I  should  have  been  exactly  like 
you.  Beating  about  and  making  a  fuss.  There's 
always  the  door;  but,  isn't  it  funny,  we  never  use 
it?" 

The  fly  answered  by  swooping  down  on  to  the 
cover  of  the  bed,  and  up  into  the  air  again,  com- 
plaining vituperatively  all  the  time. 

"  You  very  nearly  went  out  that  time,  fly,"  Spring 
murmured.  "  Are  you  blind,  or  cowardly  ?  When 
a  person  hasn't  the  courage  to  do  the  only  thing 
that's  of  any  use,  she  must  be  one  or  the  other." 

"  Not  always! " 

The  exclamation  apparently  came  from  some- 
where in  the  front  part  of  the  house,  but  how,  Spring 
was  almost  afraid  to  think.  She  lay  listening 
breathlessly.  The  voice  had  seemed  to  be  a  man's, 
yet  the  only  man  she  knew  of  in  the  place  was 


SAMARITAN  MARY  65 

Benjamin,  and  he  had  only  looked  at  her  through 
the  window  so  far,  and  had  never  done  more 
than  pull  his  hat  down  over  his  face  by  way  of 
greeting. 

"  They  might  be  considering  other  people,"  the 
strange  voice  which  seemed  to  come  out  of  space, 
continued. 

The  young  man  waited  again.  The  silence  began 
to  throb  about  him  and  he  felt  that  he  had  been 
talking  to  darkening  vacancy.  But  Spring  was  only 
considering.  "  Of  course,"  she  said  slowly  and 
nervously.  "  They  might  be  considering  other  peo- 
ple ...  but  ...  I  never  thought  of  that." 

The  frankness  of  the  tone  did  not  escape  young 
Pendren.  He  felt  for  the  first  time  that  there  was 
a  child  in  the  house,  yet  withal  a  child  with  some 
considerable  reason  in  her  mind.  The  easy  phi- 
losophy of  her  first  remarks  marked  her  as  a  reason- 
ing young  thing  perhaps  a  trifle  undeveloped.  It 
pleased  him  to  think  about  her  more  than  anything 
he  had  come  across  for  days.  Whoever  she  was, 
she  was  not  of  the  type  he  had  imagined  an  inhab- 
itant of  Mary  Settler's  house  would  be.  He  had 
seen  only  Benjamin,  with  his  shock  of  a  head  and 
his  genial  grin,  besides  Mary  herself. 

"  You  see,  I  was  talking  to  the  fly,"  said  Spring 
when  she  had  located  the  direction  of  the  voice. 
"  There  was  really  no  need  for  him  .  .  .  for  it  ... 


66  SAMARITAN  MARY 

to  consider  anybody  but  itself.  The  door  is  open 
and  it  could  have  gone  out." 

A  short  cough,  as  if  he  were  clearing  his  throat, 
came  through  the  space,  then  the  young  man  said 
smartly : 

"If  the  door  is  open  and  the  fly  could  have  gone 
out,  why  don't  you  ?  " 

Another  interval  and  again  the  silence  throbbed 
for  both. 

The  fly  had  settled  in  one  corner  of  the  room 
and  was  no  longer  taking  an  active  part  in  pro- 
ceedings. 

"  Is  your  door  open  ?  "  The  question  was  put 
so  mildly  that  the  young  man  scarcely  heard  it. 

"  Yes,  it  is,  for  once,  thank  goodness."  The  last 
word  was  almost  cut  off  by  the  sharpness  of  the 
tone,  and  following  this  Spring  heard  a  weary  sigh 
and  some  smothered  complaint. 

"  Then  it  looks  as  if  both  of  us  are  as  foolish  as 
the  fly." 

He  took  her  up  quickly. 

"  Oh  .  .  .  blow  the  fly !  Look  here,  I'm  tired  of 
this.  If  you've  got  anything  interesting  to  read, 
I  wish  you'd  let  me  have  it.  I've  never  been  so 
bored  with  myself  before.  ..." 

"  If  you  could  wait  a  little,  Mary  Settler  will  be 
back,  or  Clara  Hopkins.  Clara  reads  out  of  a  book, 
the  most  interesting  stories." 


SAMARITAN  MARY  67 

"  Oh,  my.  ..."  He  smothered  the  last  word 
advisedly. 

Then  came  Spring's  voice  carefully  attentive. 

"  Whatever  is  the  matter?    Are  you  very  bad?  " 

"  Worse  than  that.  I  thought  that  everybody 
knew  it." 

"I  didn't,  but  I  guessed  it!  Mary's  the  Sa- 
maritan, you  know;  she's  always  picking  people  up 
out  of  trouble.  You  must  be  in  trouble  or  you 
wouldn't  be  here." 

"  Did  she  pick  you  up  ?  " 

"  Yes.  I  was  part  of  the  accident,  didn't  you 
know?" 

"  Is  that  all  ?  I  was  the  whole  accident.  Didn't 
you  know  ?  " 

A  dead  quiet  reigned  after  this  and  then  there 
was  a  shuffling  of  bare  feet.  He  heard  it  distinctly, 
as  Spring  crossed  the  floor  searching  the  room  for 
something. 

"  I'm  dreadfully  sorry,"  she  called  through  the 
door.  "  There  is  only  one  book  here  and  I'm  afraid 
you  .  .  .  you  wouldn't  care  for  it." 

"  What  is  it  ?    Anything  will  do." 

"  It's  a  Bible.  I'm  afraid  I'll  have  to  throw  it 
across  because  I'm  .  .  .  I'm  not  quite  dressed." 

The  fly  started  a  round  of  the  room  again  with 
startling  and  whirling  velocity.  Spring  waited, 
leaning  against  a  chair,  for  she  was  weak  with  lying 


68  SAMARITAN  MARY 

in  bed,  and  her  frame  shivered  with  some  nervous- 
ness. 

"  Don't  throw  it."  His  tone  struck  her  as  final 
and  perhaps  a  little  masterful.  "  I  can  wait,  thank 
you." 

"  Yes.  I  don't  think  one  ought  to  throw  a  Bible," 
came  quietly  from  Spring  as  she  climbed  back  to 
bed. 

Later  on  an  idea  occurred  to  her.  She  had  this 
young  man  on  her  mind  and  it  never  struck  her  as 
anything  out  of  the  ordinary  that  she  was  in  some- 
what the  same  capacity  as  he  was,  though  he  occu- 
pied the  parlor.  It  would  have  been  just  as  nat- 
ural if  the  kitchen  had  also  been  converted  into  a 
temporary  hospital.  If  there  had  been  a  dozen 
people  concerned  in  the  affair  Spring  would 
have  known  they  were  all  under  Mary  Settler's 
care. 

Therefore,  she  asked  no  questions  as  to  why 
there  was  a  man  lying  an  invalid  in  the  room  across 
the  passage  and  was  content  to  try  and  do  her  share 
making  him  comfortable  even  though  she  was  thor- 
oughly weak  and  relying  on  the  good  woman  her- 
self. 

"  I'll  tell  you  what  I  could  do  if  .  .  .if  you'd 
like  it.  I  know  quite  a  lot  of  stories.  Some  of 
them  are  quite  good  enough  to  be  written,  I  was 
told." 


SAMARITAN  MARY  69 

"  And  why  weren't  they?  " 

"  Oh,  because  they  have  been  in  my  head  and 
never  had  a  chance  to  get  .  .  .  get  anywhere  else, 
I  suppose." 

"  You  mean  you  made  them  up  ?  " 

"  Something  like  that.  They  come  together  when 
I  think  and  then  they  grow  like  little  pictures,  just 
as  quick  as  those  in  a  photo  play." 

"  Turn  on  the  roll  then.  I'll  use  the  blind  here 
as  a  screen." 

For  fully  a  minute  Spring  was  silent  and  Pendren 
thought  that  she  was  having  a  game  with  him.  But 
no  feminine  giggle  such  as  he  expected  was  forth- 
coming, and  the  girl  said: 

"What  kind  of — of  stories  do  you  like?  Real 
life  or  just  .  .  .  just  .  .  .  things  that  couldn't 
possibly  happen  ?  " 

"  Just  at  present  I'm  more  interested  in  real  life, 
if  you  don't  mind.  Got  any  wrecked  railroads  or 
deep-sea  collisions,  or  entombed  families  in  your 
category  ?  " 

"  That's  not  real  life.  It's  real  death  and  per- 
fectly horrid  to  even  think  about.  I  call  trees,  and 
bluebirds,  wild  berries,  and  children  real  life." 

Spring's  voice  was  certainly  chiding.  Pendren 
chuckled  at  the  tone.  He  had  created  quite  the  sit- 
uation he  wanted  to.  It  worked  off  a  little  of  his 
superfluous  mind-trouble. 


70  SAMARITAN  MARY 

"  Just  one  minute,"  he  called.  "  Let  me  take  that 
to  pieces  and  see  what  I  can  make  of  it.  Real  life 
is — trees,  bluebirds,  wild  berries,  and  children. 
That  means  that  the  trees  shelter  the  bluebirds,  I 
suppose,  and  the  wild  berries  are  food  for  the  chil- 
dren. I  guess  the  bluebirds  get  the  first  chance  every 
time  because  sometimes  there  are  disastrous  results 
from  wild  berries.  Suppose  you  turn  on  the  other 
roll.  The  things  that  couldn't  possibly  happen.  I'll 
bet  you  anything  you  like  I  know  more  about  them 
than  anyone  in  the  world." 

A  crisp  little  smothered  laugh  came  from 
Spring. 

"  I'm  sure  it's  not  my  way  of  knowing  them.  The 
things  that  couldn't  possibly  happen  are  dreams" 

"  Sometimes  nightmares." 

"  Then  they  don't  count,  because  they  couldn't 
possibly  happen." 

"  Never  mind.  Sometimes  they  give  you  cold 
feet  all  the  same." 

"  My  dreams  never  do." 

"  Then  turn  on  one  of  your  dreams." 

But  there  was  another  short  pause  in  the  con- 
versation. Spring  was  weighing  things  and  the 
balance  wasn't  even.  It  would  have  given  her  a 
dreadful  feeling  if  he  were  to  laugh  in  the  middle  of 
one  of  her  greatest  dreams. 

"  I'm  afraid  ..."  she  began,  and  stopped. 


SAMARITAN  MARY  71 

"What  of?" 

"  Afraid  you  could  not  understand.  I'm  ever  so 
serious." 

"  So  am  I.    Honest  Injun." 

It  was  then  that  Spring  got  him  completely;  and 
the  complete  victory  made  her  laugh  crisply  several 
times  before  delivering  a  parting  shot. 

"  Then  that  is  one  of  the  things  that  couldn't  pos- 
sibly happen !  " 

In  the  parlor  the  young  man  struggled  to  sit  up 
and  managed  it  much  better  than  he  had  done  for- 
merly. Somehow  there  was  a  better  incentive  to 
act  for  himself  now,  than  in  the  days  when  there 
was  only  Mary  Settler's  kind  face  to  encourage  him. 
Something  had  stirred  the  stagnant  atmosphere  of 
his  mentality.  There  was  even  a  breeze  whispering 
quaint  new  things.  The  stern  man  of  business  was 
playing  with  a  child,  or  thought  he  was,  until  he 
knew  differently. 

"  Bully  for  you !  "  Leaning  forward  he  shouted 
the  words.  "  You're  the  first  person  to  find  it  out, 
though.  Personally  I  hate  dreams.  I'm  too  prac- 
tical and  solid.  Do  you  know  that  /  wouldn't  even 
bother  dreaming  who  you  are  or  what  you  are  like ; 
but  you've  got  me  curious." 

"  Then  let  us  play  a  game  of  '  Guessing.'  Do 
you  know  it?  You  start  by  asking  me  a  question 
to  which  I  am  bound  to  answer  yes  or  no.  We  take 


72  SAMARITAN  MARY 

turns  and  you  can't  ask  the  same  question  twice  .  .  . 
please  begin." 

"  Right.    Are  you  pretty?  " 

He  waited. 

Thinking  that  she  did  not  hear  him,  he  shouted 
it  louder. 

"  Are  you  pretty  ?  " 

Distinctly  he  heard  the  fly  humming  again  be- 
tween him  and  the  girl,  but  nothing  else  came  forth. 

"Are  you  asleep?" 

Then  Spring  answered  quite  quickly. 

"  No." 

"  Won't  you  answer  the  first  question  ?  " 

"  No." 

"  Was  it  a  wrong  one  ?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  It's  your  turn." 

"  Just  a  minute.  Pretend  we  are  not  playing  a 
minute  while  I  explain.  You  see  you  need  not  an- 
swer any  question  that  you  can't.  If  you  don't  know 
the  answer  you  keep  quiet." 

"  I  see.  Well,  we'll  have  another  go.  Can  I 
start?" 

"  Yes.    Does  your  name  begin  with  '  A  '  ?  " 

"  Wait  a  minute.  I  hadn't  asked  the  first  ques- 
tion." 

;<  You  did.  You  asked  if  you  could  start !  An- 
swer me ! " 


SAMARITAN  MARY  73 

"  Does  my  name  begin  with  '  A  '  ?  With  '  A  ' 
what?" 

Spring  quietened  again.    Then  she  said  seriously : 

"  Can't  you  play  fair  ?  " 

"Yes.     Can  you?" 

"  Of  course  I  can.    I  know  the  game." 

"  You  mustn't  say  all  that.  You  must  stick  to 
yes  or  no." 

"  I  stopped  playing  when  you  never  answered  my 
question." 

"  I  beg  your  pardon  but  you  didn't.  Since  then 
you've  asked  me  another.  You're  not  sticking  to 
rule." 

The  fly  in  Spring's  room  hummed  louder  and 
stopped  altogether.  Someone  passing  in  the 
road  shouted,  and  then  the  silence  opened  out 
again. 

"  Shall  we  start  again  and  try?  " 

"  Yes,"  from  Spring. 

"Are  you  a  little  girl?" 

"  Yes.    Are  you  tired  of  talking  to  me  ?  " 

"  Not  a  bit.  I  mean  .  .  .  no.  Is  your  hair  thin 
and  black?" 

"No.    Is  yours?" 

"  No.  Will  you  tell  me  your  name  when  we've 
finished  playing?  " 

"  Yes.    Will  you  tell  me  yours?  " 

"  Yes.     Will   you   also   tell   me   how   old   you 


74  SAMARITAN  MARY 

are,  what  you  look  like,  and  where  you  come 
from?" 

"Yes.  No.  Yes.  (A  short  laugh.)  Do  you 
want  to  know  anything  more?  " 

"  Yes.    Shall  we  stop  playing  now  ?  " 

"  Yes,  because  I've  won." 

The  young  man  again  leaned  forward  in  his  bed. 
He  had  never  run  across  anything  quite  so  assured 
before.  Somehow  too  he  was  conscious  that  he  was 
being  ridiculed  by  a  kind  of  child  that  had  grown 
up  before  her  years. 

"  I  can't  see  why  you've  won  any  more  than  I," 
he  said. 

"  That's  the  very  reason  in  my  favor,"  laughed 
Spring. 

"  Really.    I  don't  get  you  again  ?  " 

"  Well,  I'll  tell  you.  The  person  who  finds  out 
the  most  in  the  shortest  time  scores  twenty.  I 
scored  twenty  on  your  first  question." 

"  You've  been  using  the  jigger  when  I  wasn't 
looking,  then." 

"  I  found  out  all  about  you  and  that  gave  me 
the  twenty." 

"  I  found  out  all  about  you  and  that  gave  me 
forty." 

"  Nonsense.    How  could  you  ?  " 

"  I  found  out  that  you  were  a  little  girl,  without 
thin  black  hair,  that  you  were  going  to  tell  me  your 


SAMARITAN  MARY  75 

name,  how  old  you  were,  and  where  you  came  from 
presently,  and  that  you  are  very,  very  pretty.  That's 
six  things." 

"  Oh !  " — indignantly  from  Spring.  "  I  never 
said  a  word  about  being  .  .  .  pretty  or  anything 
like  that." 

"  That's  precisely  how  I  knew.  You  didn't  want 
to  tell  a  lie  and  you  didn't  like  to  say  yes.  I  fancy 
I  score  sixty  for  that." 

"  I  can  score  a  hundred  that  way."  Her  voice 
was  still  resentful. 

"  I  found  out  that  you  were  stupid,  inquisitive, 
unteachable,  tiresome,  impatient,  unfair,  and  per- 
fectly ridiculous.  That's  seven." 

"  You've  only  left  one  thing  out.    Unsquashable." 

"  I  didn't  want  to  squash  you  " — mildly  from 
Spring. 

"  So  the  elephant  said  to  the  flea,  but  he  had  to 
sit  down  all  the  same.  Would  you  mind  killing  that 
fly  in  your  room?  It's  driving  me  silly." 

A  faint  sigh  floated  to  him  across  the  passage, 
then  the  girl's  voice,  quaintly  resigned : 

"  I  can't,  because  it  has  done  the  one  and  only 
thing.  It  has  gone  through  the  door." 


CHAPTER  VII 

"  MARK'S  lost  his  job,  Mary." 

The  good  woman  had  just  touched  the  rim  of  the 
little  house  across  Hek  Dean's  fields.  Cora  Spinney 
sat  on  the  porch  watching  Mary  come  across  the 
plowed  land  and  immediately  she  thought  her  near 
enough  she  hailed  her  with  the  news. 

Mary  Settler  scraped  her  boots  on  a  stone  before 
she  went  into  the  low,  dust-speckled  living-room. 

"  Jest  about  time  Mark  was  setting  up  a  new 
sensation.  It's  a  wonder  you  ain't  been  giving  him 
something  to  think  about,  Cora,  that  had  lungs  of 
its  own  to  remind  him  his  family  had  started,  and 
a  job  wasn't  exactly  a  blood  relation  that  would 
stick  to  him  when  he  wanted  to  treat  it  bad.  What's 
Hek  got  to  say  about  it  ?  " 

Cora  looked  tearfully  at  her. 

"  Ain't  no  use  making  a  song  to  father.  He 
clean  finished  with  Mark,  time  he  got  mussed  up 
with  Jake  Heldy." 

"Jake  don't  hold  anything  much  against  Mark, 
Cora,  'cept  that  he  hadn't  a  mind  of  his  own  when 
Mark  come  into  the  business.  I'll  talk  to  Hek.  But 
it  won't  give  Mark  a  new  job,  I'm  thinkin',  and  it's 

76 


SAMARITAN  MARY  77 

only  a  guess  on  my  part  that  it  will  do  anything 
towards  putting  food  into  your  mouth  so  as  you 
can  feed  that  baby  you're  expecting." 

"  We  owe  father  ever  so  much  as  it  is,  Mary, 
and  Mark  and  me  wouldn't  be  the  ones  to  ask  more 
of  him,  knowing  it  'd  only  set  sparks  going.  We 
borrowed  ever  so  much  on  the  property  long  ago, 
and  we  been  paying  it  back  in  rent  ever  since.  If 
Mark  don't  happen  on  something  pretty  lively  there 
won't  be  nothing  but  the  road  for  me  and  baby." 

All  this  was  said  in  a  wearisome  whine,  and  any- 
one else  but  Mary  Settler  would  have  scorned  the 
tone.  Cora  Spinney  knew  it,  and  it  was  her  chance 
to  wail. 

"  I  dunno  what  I  done  to  deserve  it,  either.  All 
through  I've  stuck  to  Mark  and  never  as  much  as 
a  grumble  all  the  time.  I  tell  Deacon  Perch  only  the 
other  night  that  I'd  keep  comin'  to  meeting  right  up 
to  my  time  and  I  ain't  missed  yet." 

"  That's  considerable  in  your  favor,  Cora,  but 
you  didn't  ought  to  mix  up  what  you  done  for  the 
Lord  with  what  the  Lord  is  doin'  for  you.  Now 
we're  all  mighty  small  fish  in  one  water-hole,  and 
there's  benefits  to  go  round  if  they  are  properly 
distributed ;  and  you  ain't  doin'  too  bad  with  a  baby 
right  off  the  first  year  of  your  marriage,  when 
there's  some  goes  to  the  end  of  time  and  gets  no 
chance.  I  knew  a  woman  up  Mapleboro  once  that 


78  SAMARITAN  MARY 

set  by  a  frilled-muslin  soap-box,  pretendin'  it  was 
a  workbasket,  year  in  and  year  out,  and  her  never 
get  any  nearer  her  heart's  desire  than  five  feet  of 
front  yard.  She  kep'  up  the  soap-box  till  she  died, 
poor  thing;  and  one  of  the  neighbors,  cleanin'  up  a 
bit,  undertook  to  use  it  for  its  right  purpose.  I 
never  did  think  that  woman  had  a  proper  chance,  and 
it  was  mostly  '  hope  deferred ';  but  then  she  might 
of  had  feelings  of  compensation." 

"  We  ain't  paid  the  store  account  two  months, 
Mary." 

Cora  got  her  grievance  forward  a  little  more. 

"  Thet's  bad  as  can  be,  Cora,  but  I  should  say 
that,  soon  as  you  can  get  the  baby  over,  things  will 
just  stand  on  their  own  feet  without  assistance. 
Nothing  like  a  baby  to  promote  strict  business  when 
the  food  closet's  empty.  There  was  Mrs.  Casson 
now.  She  was  mortal  afraid,  when  her  man  was 
smashed  up  in  the  railroad  business  and  brought 
home  without  any  legs,  that  they  were  all  goin'  to 
starve.  Well,  she  had  the  baby  sudden,  and  a  bit 
previous  to  what  I  would  have  advised.  It  was  on 
account  of  the  shock  and  only  half  a  man  returned 
to  her  'stead  of  a  complete  article,  and  all  the  people 
in  the  village  up  and  hands  her  down  enuff  food 
for  a  month.  They  took  it  in  turns  to  see  she  didn't 
have  nothing  to  worry  over  all  the  time  doctors  was 
patching  and  hemming  her  man  together  and  while 


SAMARITAN  MARY  79 

she  was  busy  with  the  new  baby,  and  for  the  next 
year  and  a  half  she  only  had  to  open  her  mouth  to 
put  the  food  in.  Well,  Casson  he  dies  next  fall,  and 
she  hurries  up  things  again,  and  not  long  after 
throws  a  double.  Twins  it  was;  and  not  a  neighbor 
in  the  place  anxious  to  do  a  mortal  hand's  turn. 
They  reckoned  she  was  helping  herself  to  a  bigger 
advantage,  and  flesh  and  blood  was  all  against  that. 

"  You  never  can  tell,  Cora,"  Mary  said  presently. 
"  If  it  had  been  twins  the  first  time,  the  benefits 
would  have  been  just  the  same.  You  keep  on  be- 
lieving, and  Hek  and  me  will  come  to  some  under- 
standing." 

"  Oh,  I  believe  in  you  all  right,  Mary.  It's  father 
I'm  mortified  over.  We  must  get  money,  unless 
Mark  goes  to  the  city  and  takes  a  job  there,  and 
what  will  I  do  with  only  meself  and  the  baby?  " 

Another  bogie  had  disturbed  Cora  and  she  started 
a  short  sniffling,  that  suggested  a  cold  in  the  head 
more  than  anything. 

"  Now  look  here,  Cora,"  said  Mary,  with  some 
firmness.  "  I'm  not  exactly  the  whole  book  of  in- 
formation given  away  at  the  matrimonial  bureau, 
but  say,  what'd  you  think  Hek  would  be  doin'  settin' 
down  to  his  supper  over  there  in  a  linoleumed  parlor 
all  easy  and  mindful  of  the  blessin's  he'd  received 
through  being  a  kind  of  a  cautious  man  all  his  life, 
if  he  knew  you  was  havin'  your  first  baby  good  and 


8o  SAMARITAN  MARY 

hard,  with  Mark  out  of  a  job  and  a  store  account  as 
long  as  your  clothes  line?  If  I  know  anything  at 
all  I  reckon  he'll  be  along  right  the  very  first  minit 
Doctor  Harkins  touches  the  porch.  I  know  Hek, 
if  you  don't,  and  if  I  make  a  mistake  then  I'm  going 
to  find  it  out  pretty  quick." 

She  was  even  then  getting  up  to  depart  and  Cora 
held  out  a  detaining  hand. 

"  Mark  won't  let  me  ask  father,  Mary.  He's 
prideful  even  if  his  temper  do  get  him  out  of  work 
times." 

"  That's  a  good  spirit,  Cora,  though  a  man  who 
gets  mad  with  his  boss  three  times  in  two  months, 
and  is  chucked  for  it,  ought  to  have  something  more 
to  recommend  him.  Well,  Hek  and  me  will  have  a 
little  talk.  Maybe  Mark  won't  be  too  prideful  to 
hold  his  objections  out  to  borrowing  from  say  .  .  . 
somebody  else — names  not  mentioned  ?  " 

Cora  straightened  and  dried  her  face. 

"  It  'd  make  the  baby  easier  if  I  knew  we  had  a 
little  cash  down,  Mary,  not  even  knowin'  who's 
the  .  .  ." 

"  And  nothin'  said  to  ...  to  Clara  Hopkins  or 
nobody,  but  just  taken  for  granted  it  come  from 
Hek?" 

"  I  can  say  father  sent  it,  Mary." 

"  Then  I'll  be  getting  over  the  fields.  Did  you 
know  I  got  Spring  Roper  of  Ladybird  stopping  up 


SAMARITAN  MARY  81 

my  place?  Nice  little  thing  with  big  eyes  full  of 
soft  light  like  her  mother's.  There's  a  pool  of  water 
for  you!  Children  for  every  chair  in  the  house, 
to  say  nothing  of  the  benches  in  the  kitchen.  Spring 
come  to  an  unhappy  finish  last  week  tryin'  to  do  a 
trick  ride  to  the  depot.  I  don't  blame  her  and  I'm 
thankful  it  was  me  got  the  chance  to  show  her  her 
error." 

"  I  heered  you  got  the  gentleman  from  the  city 
as  well.  Miss  Hetty,  she  was  mortified  at  that." 

"  I  must  call  on  Miss  Hetty  and  let  her  know 
he's  doin'  fine.  Spring  put  a  high  speed  into  her 
recovery  directly  she  saw  the  new  dress  Clara  helped 
me  to  make.  Bless  my  soul,  to  think  of  you,  Cora, 
with  a  baby  of  your  own,  and  me  .  .  .  well,  it  don't 
come  nearly  so  unsatisfactory  when  you  get  the 
chance  to  fuss  up  something  you've  borrowed.  I'll 
go  this  way  across,  and  see  if  I  can  catch  sight  of 
Hek." 

Sure  as  the  woman  crossed  the  cultivated  patch 
and  turned  through  the  little  gate  into  the  yard 
where  an  old  man  was  feeding  chickens,  did  she 
catch  sight  of  Hek! 

He  was  standing  there  watching  her  come  across 
the  field  from  Mark  Spinney's  house. 

"  Wall,  Mary,"  he  said  in  slow,  languid  tones. 
"  I  guess  you've  been  picking  up  chips  again  for 
some  as  don't  deserve  it.  Now  ain't  it  jest  too  bad 


82  SAMARITAN  MARY 

of  them  to  get  you  to  come  right  along  to  me?  I'd 
be  real  sorry  to  refuse  you  anything,  Mary,  but 
Mark  Spinney's  got  his  own  row  to  hoe,  and  I 
guess  I  don't  help  block  up  his  track  with  benefits 
he's  kinder  looking  for." 

"  You  ain't  going  to  get  the  chance  to  refuse  me 
anything,  Hek,"  said  Mary,  following  him  into  the 
kitchen.  She  stood  there  a  moment  looking  round 
her. 

"  Seems  like  you  ain't  got  the  proper  handling  of 
this  place,  Hek.  Who's  your  '  help  '  now  Cora's 
taken  up  with  her  own  private  affairs?  " 

"  Miss  Hetty,  she's  taken  a  sudden  fancy  to  come 
and  do  the  chores  for  me;  but  there  ain't  much  in 
the  way  of  keeping  her  here  more'n  an  hour  a  day, 
thank  the  land."  He  took  a  chair  and  then  put  one 
for  Mary. 

But  the  good  Samaritan  still  remained  standing, 
observing  the  arrangement  of  the  kitchen. 

Miss  Hetty,  she  do  be  terrible  soft  with  me, 
Mary,  but  she's  hidin'  a  scorpion  with  a  living 
tongue  of  fire  somewhere  in  her  busom.  Mostly  I 
keeps  out  of  the  house,  but  that  don't  seem  to  suit 
her  neither." 

"  Miss  Hetty  ain't  had  no  chance,  Hek.  I  mind 
the  day  when  she  was  photographed  for  somebody 
she'd  been  corresponding  with  regular.  He'd  been 
away  in  the  country's  wars  many  a  day,  and  Miss 


SAMARITAN  MARY  83 

Hetty  she  thinks  to  bring  him  back  to  her  be  jest 
that  fancy  picture.  Well,  Hek,  it  was  that  same 
photograph  that  did  the  trick.  She's  been  most 
sour  from  that  day  and  nussed  up  a  different  no- 
tion about  that  man  ever  since." 

"  Maybe,  Mary " — Hek  took  things  leisurely. 
He  was  evidently  debating  the  story.  "  She's  con- 
siderable pleased  about  somethin'  these  days."  He 
nodded  his  head  slowly.  "  She  can  cook  too." 

"  She  can  do  most  things  she  sets  out  to.  I'm 
right  glad  she's  come  around,  Hek.  Stops  you  bein' 
lonesome  like  an'  takes  the  edge  off  of  the  feelin' 
you  got  when  Cora  married  Mark." 

"  I  got  no  feelin'  for  Cora,  Mary.  She  sets  great 
store  be  what  she's  brought  on  her  own  head." 

"  Sure  she  does !  It  wouldn't  be  you  nor  me, 
Hek,  that  would  think  much  of  a  girl  that  didn't 
stand  up  for  what  she'd  taken  on,  and  was  ready 
to  face  out.  She  can't  set  too  much  on  that  baby, 
even  if  it  ain't  born  regular  and  up  to  time.  If  a 
woman  can't  set  great  and  everlastin'  store  be  her 
first  baby,  then  she  can't  have  no  right  to  be  glad 
about  anything." 

"  Mary,  she  ain't  no  right  to  be  setting  store  be 
a  wrong  action.  I  nussed  her  from  a  baby  meself 
and  never  as  much  as  let  her  know  a  thing  about 
an  onrighteous  and  evil  doer." 

"  That's  exactly  what  brought  about  the  trouble, 


84  SAMARITAN  MARY 

Hek.  You  nussed  her  upside  down,  or  wrong  side 
out,  or  whatever  it  is  a  man  like  you  thinks  the 
correct  style.  If  she'd  been  mine  I'd  have  turned 
her  out  among  the  hedges  and  let  her  learn  life 
from  the  sermons  in  the  trees  and  the  stones  and 
the  common  people.  You  kep'  her  tied  to  her  hymn- 
book,  Hek,  and  it  was  only  natural  that  when  some- 
thing with  red  blood  in  him  come  along,  she  was 
going  to  feel  the  warmth  of  it  before  she  accepted 
your  opinions." 

"  She  didn't  ought  to  have  brought  disgrace  on 
my  house,  Mary.  I'm  a  clean-livin'  man,  and  a  gal 
with  a  baby  before  her  time  ..." 

"  My  land,  Hek,  you  do  make  me  wriggle.  I'm 
a  kind  of  a  sort  of  earthworm  just  travelin'  along 
in  the  dark,  when  I  think  of  what  Cora  done.  No 
woman  on  this  earth,  or  in  any  other  part,  ever 
had  a  baby  before  her  time.  When  a  baby  has  to 
be  born,  it  jes'  has  to  be  born,  and  nothin'  made 
be  man,  be  it  government  law,  or  family  law,  or 
any  manner  of  law  whatever,  is  goin'  to  stop  it. 
Jes'  suppose  you  could.  Now,  what'd  the  world 
be  doin'?  The  mortality  alone  would  flood  the 
market  and  on'y  the  undertakers  be  making  any- 
thing of  a  livin'.  I  guess  they'd  be  doin'  a  big 
thing  in  funerals  for  the  poor  creatures  who'd  been 
robbed  of  the  fruits  of  their  lives  after  bein'  put 
on  this  earth  for  precisely  that  selfsame  reason." 


SAMARITAN  MARY  85 

She  stopped  a  moment  to  wipe  her  face.  The  in- 
tensity of  her  feeling  was  bringing  the  sweat  from 
every  pore.  Indignation  at  suffering  and  injustice 
was  poured  out  from  her  swelling  heart.  "  Cora's 
not  having  a  baby  before  her  time.  The  precise 
hour  for  that  dear  lamb  to  arrive,  and  fill  the  earth 
with  good  will  and  peace  towards  men,  has  been 
set  by  the  Lord  Himself,  and  you  an'  me,  Hek,  ain't 
got  no  cause  to  question  whether  it's  early,  or  late." 

Across  the  fields  the  sun  had  taken  a  slant  and 
small  and  great  things  began  to  have  a  face  of 
colored  shadow.  Mary  looked  through  the  door. 
"  We'll  just  go  through  that  little  matter  of  ... 
of  my  property,  Hek,  and  then  I'll  be  getting  back." 

Silently  the  old  man  rose  and  searched  in  a 
drawer  among  an  assortment  of  table  knives,  forks, 
and  spoons.  He  brought  out  some  yellowish  papers 
to  Mary. 

"  There's  .  .   .  interest  owing  .   .   .  Mary." 

"  I'm  a  bit  slow,  Hek,  these  times  at  catching-up." 

"  I  guess  then,  Mary,  that  you  ain't  anxious  par- 
ticular about  paying  .  .  .  today  ?  "  There  was  a 
kind  of  fierce  gloating  pleasure  in  his  voice. 

"  Nor  .  .  .  tomorrow,  Hek,"  said  Mary  evenly. 
"  But  I'm  particular  anxious  and  breaking  my 
heart  most,  to  take  a  fresh  loan  from  you,  Hek." 

"  Ah !  "  It  was  all  the  old  man  said  as  he  smiled 
across  at  her. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

A  BOY  brought  a  message  to  Benjamin  that  same 
afternoon  that  Clara  Hopkins  had  been  "  taken  with 
a  terrible  toothache."  This  message  was  passed  on 
in  turn  to  Mary  as  she  crossed  her  own  potato  patch 
on  the  way  to  the  house. 

"  Then  jes'  you  hustle  a  bit,  Benjamin,  and  when 
you're  through  here  you  can  take  up  a  bottle  of 
my  mixture  to  Clara.  Come  in  and  have  a  bit  of 
supper  first  before  you  sets  out." 

"  I  guess  I'll  get  a  move  on  direckly  I've  cleaned 
up  a  bit,"  said  Benjamin;  and  Mary  turned  to  look 
at  him  suddenly. 

"  You  don't  need  to  be  cleanin'  up  for  Clara, 
Benjamin.  Last  time  you  was  a  heap  more  like 
the  garbage  corner  of  the  yard  when  I  sent  you  up 
that  direction." 

Benjamin  took  it  facing  front.  His  great  head 
with  the  thin  streaks  of  lank  hair  was  held  high 
to  the  evening  glow. 

"  It  wa'n't  in  that  direction.  It  was  oncommon 
close  to  Mirandy  Bell's  place  you  sent  me  with  the 
errand.  Mirandy  ain't  Clara  Hopkins  and  that 
makes  a  heap  of  a  difference." 

86 


SAMARITAN  MARY  87 

"  Folks  said  once  you  was  mighty  keen  on  Mi- 
randy,  Benjamin." 

A  flush  of  indignation  ran  from  the  boy's  high 
forehead  to  where  his  shirt  divided  at  the  throat. 

"  Once,  Mary,  but  on'y  the  once.  Since  then  I 
got  in  company  that  pleases  me  more." 

"  I'm  real  glad  of  that,  Benjamin.  Would  it  be 
overcurious  of  me  to  ask  you  the  proper  name  of 
that  same  company?  " 

For  a  moment  the  boy  hesitated,  then  he  wheeled 
round  and  pointed  with  one  ground-grubby  fore- 
finger. 

"  Dunno  the  proper  name,  but  it's  thet  old  hoss 
over  thar.  He's  a  sight  more  entertainin'.  ..." 

Mary  allowed  a  smile  to  come  over  her  face.  She 
turned  away. 

"  Ain't  much  compliment  to  Clara,"  she  said  to 
herself  as  she  rubbed  her  feet  on  the  rush  mat  at 
the  kitchen  door.  "  But  I  s'pose  it's  Benjamin's 
way.  So  Mirandy  Bell's  on  the  path  of  No  Hope 
and  plain  sewin'  for  the  rest  of  her  life.  Well,  I 
never  did  quite  cotton  to  breakin'  her  in  for  Ben- 
jamin, and  now  I  come  to  think  of  it  .  .  . " 

She  had  reached  the  bedroom  and  found  Spring 
sitting  up  in  the  bedcovers  quietly  stitching  up  the 
hem  of  the  new  muslin.  In  the  girl's  face  was 
something  wonderfully  vital.  Her  thin,  delicate, 
shell-colored  fingers  manipulated  the  needle  in  and 


88  SAMARITAN  MARY 

out  of  the  hem  with  a  speed  of  almost  anxious 
anticipation.  Two  bright  eyes  like  the  first  stars 
in  a  turquoise  evening  sky  twinkled  at  Mary  as  she 
came  in,  and  the  sudden  flush  of  an  unexplainable 
position  spread  over  the  velvet  cheeks  and  full 
throat. 

Mary  had  the  strength  to  hold  her  tongue.  It 
was  the  most  unusual  thing  for  her  to  do,  for  she 
was  ever  ready  to  say  what  she  was  thinking. 
Something  made  her  just  stand  there,  looking  at 
Spring,  and  in  the  minute  the  girl  took  it  that  the 
good  woman  was  surprised  that  she  had  at  last 
asserted  herself  to  take  a  hand  in  things. 

Deliberately  Spring  smiled  across  the  whiteness 
of  the  bed  and  Mary  caught  the  gleam. 

"  I  declare  to  goodness,  Spring,  you  seem  to  grow 
different  every  hour  of  the  day,"  she  said,  although 
it  was  not  really  in  her  mind  to  utter  such  a  thing. 

A  bubbling  laugh  came  from  the  bed. 

"Of  course,  Mary.  I  couldn't  grow  the  same, 
could  I?  I'd  be  staying  in  one  kind  of  position 
something  like  the  pyramids  of  Egypt.  One  has 
to  grow  different  if  one  grows  at  all." 

"  My  word !  And  you're  getting  that  perky  and 
indifferent  to  them  bruises  on  your  arms  and  legs, 
that  looked  more  like  you  been  setting  down  in 
several  pools  of  blue-black  ink  than  anything  else, 
that  you'll  be  talkin'  of  getting  out  of  bed  next." 


SAMARITAN  MARY  89 

"  Tomorrow  I'll  be  getting  up,  Mary." 

"  Sure  now.  There's  nobody  wants  to  hurry 
you,  Spring.  Another  week  on  the  same  prescrip- 
tion, to  say  nothing  of  the  exact  kind  of  recent 
treatment,  and  you'd  be  plump  as  a  plum.  Land, 
when  I  look  at  you  now,  and  think  of  what  you 
was  when  I  carried  you  in  a  week  ago,  it  does  my 
heart  good.  Sure  now  you  wouldn't  be  better  to 
take  another  day  or  so,  Spring  ?  " 

If  for  one  moment  Mary  had  allowed  her  face 
to  relax  from  its  seriousness,  the  whole  root  of  her 
scheming  would  have  been  laid  bare  to  the  winds 
of  ridicule.  But  the  good  woman  with  wonderful 
discrimination  kept  the  light  in  her  eyes  as  steady 
as  that  on  a  windowpane.  Her  jaws  came  together 
slowly  and  she  waited  with  the  uttermost  con- 
cern. 

"  Jes'  another  day  or  so,  Spring,"  she  said  pres- 
ently and  the  girl's  face  bent  further  over  the  sew- 
ing. "  Give  yourself  time  to  finish  off  that  bit  of 
sewin'  you're  so  kind  as  to  take  on.  You  can't  get 
up  without  that's  finished." 

"  It  will  be  quite  finished  by  .  .  .by  tonight/' 
came  eagerly  from  Spring. 

Mary  smiled. 

"  Then  jest  you  work  as  fast  as  you  can,  Lovey, 
if  it  ain't  making  the  job  into  a  headache  as  well  as 
a  pleasure.  You  keep  right  on  the  tape-line,  and 


90  SAMARITAN  MARY 

I'll  make  time  tonight  to  put  in  the  rest  of  the 
buttonholes." 

"  Do  .  .  .do  you  think  you'll  really  have  time, 
Mary?" 

Such  a  quivering  of  uncertainty  in  the  voice  and 
such  a  change  of  brightness  in  the  anxious  eyes ! 

Mary  was  leaving  the  room.  "  Sure  as  to- 
morrow starts  at  twelve  o'clock  tonight,"  she  said, 
going  across  the  passage  to  her  other  charge. 

"  Jes'  like  doin'  a  sum  on  one  side  of  your  slate 
and  provin'  it  to  be  right  on  the  other,"  said  Mary 
mentally,  when  she  had  taken  in  certain  alterations 
in  Quilter  Lancelot  Pendren. 

"  Spring's  the  piece  of  arithmetic  I  been  working 
on  for  a  week,  and  to  prove  I  got  her  right,  I've 
only  got  to  turn  over  the  slate,  which  is  the  other 
side  of  the  passage,  and  take  a  look  at  what's  doin' 
in  the  parlor." 

While  working  this  out  she  was  standing  watch- 
ing the  young  man  in  the  same  way  as  she  had 
observed  the  girl. 

Pendren  was  intently  concerned  in  looking  under 
his  bed,  although  it  was  not  altogether  an  easy 
thing  to  do  from  his  position  on  the  top  of  it.  He 
was  too  taken  up  trying  to  balance  himself  to  notice 
the  woman's  entrance.  She  stood  there  a  little 
longer  till  he  gave  up  his  acrobatic  feat  of  trying 
to  discover  something  under  the  couch. 


SAMARITAN  MARY  91 

"Damn!"  he  said  roundly. 

"  That's  a  bad  word,  but  I  should  say,  Mr.  Pen- 
dren,  that  it  just  about  suits  the  situation.  Young 
man,  you  got  no  horse  sense  to  go  leaning  that  way 
on  your  anatomy  seeing  that  Doc  Harkins  can  only 
renovate  you  temporary.  Would  it  be  out  of  place 
to  inquire  jest  how  much  further  you  would  have 
crawled  under  that  stretcher  if  I  hadn't  called  you 
up  by  wireless,  so  to  speak,  in  time  to  save  you 
cracking  right  in  half  ?  " 

"  I  was  looking  for  my  boots,"  said  Pendren. 

"  Going  to  wear  'em  in  bed,  and  go  treading  on 
yourself  'cause  of  no  chance  to  walk  anywhere's 
else?" 

"  I'm  going  to  get  up.  I'm  sick  of  playing  the 
.  .  .  infant." 

"  Oh  .  .  .  was  it  only  playing  then  ?  Land !  to 
think  of  that!  And  us  all  thinking  you  down  and 
out,  run  over  by  heavy  traffic  in  your  own  head. 
.  .  .  I'm  real  pleased  you're  beating  us  to  frazzles 
over  that  part." 

"  Oh,  I  expect  to  be  as  weak  as  a  kitten  and  as 
stupid  as  an  owl  for  .  .  .  weeks  yet." 

"  That's  good."  Mary  was  off  her  guard,  but 
she  quickly  took  her  stand  again  and  kept  things 
going. 

"  It  does  my  heart  good  to  hear  you  admit  you're 
not  feelin'  like  jumping  the  moon  as  yet.  I  ain't 


92  SAMARITAN  MARY 

had  a  chance  to  know  you  properly  yet.  So  you'll 
be  getting  up  tomorrow  ?  " 

A  little  rush  of  blood  made  Pendren  hesitate. 
He  felt  decidedly  uncomfortable,  but  he  pulled  up 
smartly. 

"  I  didn't  mention  tomorrow  .  .   .  exactly." 

"  Then  it  was  my  mistake.  I'm  real  sorry." 
She  turned  to  go  out  of  the  room.  "  I'll  get  Ben- 
jamin to  hunt  out  your  clothes  in  a  day  or  so.  Jest 
you  make  your  mind  easy  now." 

But  this  didn't  suit  the  young  man. 

"  Perhaps  .  .  .  perhaps  it  might  as  well  be  ... 
tomorrow,"  he  called  out.  Mary  turned  round. 

"  If  you're  feeling  fit,  I  don't  mind  sayin'  that 
it  would  be  the  most  blessed  kind  of  a  day  for  you 
to  get  up." 

"Why  a  blessed  kind  of  a  day?"  Mary's  ex- 
pression had  stirred  certain  suspicions  in  his  breast. 

"  For  one  reason,  because  it's  Sunday,"  she  said, 
and  gave  him  no  more  time  to  ask  questions. 

Later,  when  everything  in  the  house  had  been 
attended  to  and  finished  for  the  night,  when  the 
last  buttonhole  in  Spring's  new  dress  had  been 
pressed  with  an  iron,  Mary  Settler  stepped  through 
the  door  of  her  house  and  stood  out  under  the 
stars.  To  her  it  was  the  time  when  all  thankful 
souls  should  pray,  and  pray  in  the  open  where  God 
looked  through  the  blue. 


SAMARITAN  MARY  93 

"  Dear  Lord  of  Love,"  she  said  quietly,  and  the 
night  wind  took  it  right  to  the  sprinkle  of  stars, 
"  there's  Cora  with  her  baby,  an'  Miss  Hetty  over- 
anxious about  Hek  Dean;  there's  Benjamin  search- 
ing out  Clara,  who's  a  head  over  him  in  years,  an' 
these  two  misunderstanding  things  trying  to  keep 
a  secret  close  when  it's  been  sticking  out  a  foot  all 
the  evening.  And  there's  me,  Lord  .  .  .  jes' 
thankful.  Bless  us  every  one." 


CHAPTER  IX 

"  You  are  pretty." 

Across  a  strip  of  turned-up  chocolate  soil  Spring 
Roper  saw  the  young  man  upholstered  in  all  manner 
of  bandages,  and  clad  in  a  badly  damaged  traveling 
suit,  a  silk  handkerchief  collar,  and  a  pair  of  hand- 
some red  leather  bath  slippers.  He  was  sitting  in 
a  basket-chair  indifferently  languid,  and  blinking 
in  the  face  of  the  fullest  sunshine.  She  was  lying 
in  a  twine  hammock  made  in  two-colored  mesh,  and 
hung  under  the  best  flowering  apple  tree  in  Mary 
Settler's  garden. 

The  good  woman  had  arranged  everything  with 
a  wonderful  discrimination,  and  never  for  a  moment 
had  she  allowed  these  young  people  to  think  that 
she  had  guessed  at  their  apparent  previous  knowl- 
edge of  each  other.  At  an  early  hour  she  had  got 
the  girl  out  of  bed,  and  with  some  carefully  hidden 
concern  as  to  her  proper  debut,  had  brushed  out 
the  short  masses  of  curling  hair  and  anointed  her 
with  many  blessings  as  she  did  so.  The  colored 
muslin  was  arranged  with  the  buttons  all  fastening 
down  the  back  and  a  bow  of  ribbon  was  perched, 

94 


SAMARITAN  MARY  95 

where  the  belt  presumably,  but  not  really,  did  up  at 
the  left  side. 

The  hammock  in  two-colored  twine,  as  well  as 
the  pretty  muslin,  had  also  been  part  of  the  scheme 
in  Mary's  mind,  and  it  gave  her  great  satisfaction 
to  see  the  girl  lying  there. 

"  More'n  ever  like  a  part  of  Clara's  novel,  even 
if  the  bulk  of  her  do  resemble  somewhat  a  passel  of 
onions  in  a  net  bag." 

Before  leaving  the  garden  the  woman  had  given 
the  girl  a  few  instructions  just  to  help  things 
along. 

"  I  don't  see,  Spring,"  she  said,  "  as  how  you 
can't  hand  him  out  jest  the  kind  of  female,  do- 
mestic attentions  you've  been  so  keen  on  delivering 
your  ma's  family  so  long.  There's  no  need  for 
you  to  encourage  him  to  use  his  legs,  either.  Ben- 
jamin will  be  back  presently  from  the  Sunday 
School  and  we  will  get  that  Q.  L.  P.  to  bed  by 
sundown." 

She  was  going  off,  but  returned  with  another  load 
of  light  remarks. 

"  Talk  bright  to  him,  Spring,  lovey.  I  got  the 
idea  today  that  he's  kinder  missing  his  happy  home 
and  mother.  Don't  let  him  be  dull,  same  time  keep 
down  things  that  might  come  up  to  rouse  that  piece 
of  business  he's  living  under  just  now,  and  which 
don't  come  too  easy  on  his  mind.  Play  all  you 


96  SAMARITAN  MARY 

like,  and  if  he  wants  to  admire  you  for  things  as 
ain't  your  fault,  nor  your  credit — just  let  him.  It 
will  do  you  both  good,  but  hold  on  to  your  own 
identity  jest  as  long  as  you  can — same  as  he's  been 
doing  by  us. 

"  Certain,  Spring,  it  don't  do  a  flea-bite  of  harm 
to  let  him  hear  you  turning  on  the  high-gear  talk; 
but  same  time  it  isn't  always  wise  to  hand  out  in- 
formation like  your  mother's  first  name,  or  your 
address,  for  a  bit.  Young  folks  is  like  to  be  a  bit 
overanxious  when  first  they  meet.  That's  the 
trouble  afterwards.  I  mind  the  time  I  first  hit  up 
in  a  line  of  heart  throbs  myself.  I  had  him  guess- 
ing all  the  names  under  the  sun,  of  flowers,  birds, 
and  beasts,  and  colors,  and  him  never  as  much  as 
touching  the  truth  of  plain  Mary.  .  .  .  Sakes  alive, 
wasn't  he  cute,  too,  when  he  happened  to  strike  some- 
body who  opened  the  daylight  on  the  real  thing? 
Says  to  me  that  very  day,  '  You  got  me  guessing, 
all  right,  but  since  you  made  it  Daffodil,  you  got  to 
stop  Daffodil  till  the  cows  come  home ! '  .  .  . " 

As  if  in  a  mental  abstraction  the  good  woman 
continued  her  little  story  in  silence.  Spring  heard 
no  more  of  the  affair  now  worn  threadbare  by  the 
years. 

After  this  advice,  when  Mary  Settler  had  timed 
the  young  man's  hour  of  rising  (with  some  valua- 
ble and  much-needed  assistance  from  Benjamin  of 


SAMARITAN  MARY  97 

the  yard)  she  found  herself  short  of  time  to  get 
to  the  Sunday  School  meeting. 

No  sooner  had  Quilter  Lancelot  Pendren  been 
disposed  of  in  the  basket-chair  with  an  impedi- 
menta of  rugs,  bandages,  footstools,  and  other  in- 
valids' etcetera,  than  the  good  woman  reminded  Ben- 
jamin that  he  was  also  a  bit  overdue  for  the  Sunday 
School. 

"  It's  uncommon  queer  about  that  Q.  L.  P.'s 
boots,"  Mary  said,  not  looking  too  closely  at  her 
companion  as  they  trudged  the  fields  and  the  road. 
"  Seems  like  I'm  getting  out  of  touch  with  myself 
these  times  when  I  can't  remember  where  I  put 
them.  I've  a  kinder  notion  I  gave  them  to  you  to 
clean  up,  Benjamin." 

"  Mebbe  you  did,  seeing  I  remember  the  kind  of 
patent  leathers  they  was,"  said  the  farm  help. 

"  An'  you  put  them  back  in  the  clothes  closet 
same  as  his  other  things?  " 

"  Yep." 

"  Did  you  turn  the  key?  " 

"  You  did  that,  Mary." 

"  Praise  be,  then,  for  they  must  be  somewhere 
hiding.  That  Q.  L.  P.  will  have  to  content  himself 
with  the  ellergint  bath  slippers  till  I  can  turn  them 
out." 

"Is  he  in  some  hurry,  Mary?  " 

"  He's  got  particular  business   further  on,   the 


98  SAMARITAN  MARY 

nature  of  which  isn't  oiled  up  enough  to  get  itself 
started.  Ain't  likely  he'll  be  getting  a  move  on 
without  his  boots,  though." 

This  apparently  gave  her  some  satisfaction,  for 
her  face  fell  into  soft  shades  and  lines  of  merri- 
ment as  they  went  into  the  Sunday  School. 

"  You  are  pretty." 

When  Spring  had  only  stared  wide-eyed  in  an- 
swer, the  young  man  had  repeated  himself. 

"  And  you  haven't  got  thin  black  hair.  It  is  just 
the  most  marvelous  change  of  colors  in  this  sun- 
shine. Is  it  meant  to  be  up  or  down  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know.     Mary  did  it." 

Quite  at  a  loss  as  to  how  to  take  this,  Pendren 
looked  across  the  space  of  mellow  sunshine  and 
chocolate  soil.  It  was  a  decided  disadvantage  to 
have  to  call  out  so  loudly,  and  to  have  a  full  blare 
of  light  in  his  eyes  every  time  he  wanted  to  speak 
to  her.  The  strip  of  upturned  soil  was  indeed  an 
annoyance.  He  wriggled  in  his  chair. 

"  Mary  does  pretty  well  everything,"  he  grum- 
bled. "  She  put  me  in  this  chair  with  this  cursed 
sun  in  my  face,  and  insisted  on  my  remaining  in 
my  bath  slippers  at  an  hour  when  it  is  positively 
indecent.  I  detest  the  sun  in  my  face,  and  I  hate, 
above  everything,  to  slop  about  in  bath  slippers." 

"  But  you  are  not  slopping  about,"  said  Spring, 


99 

to  justify  Mary.  "  You  are  not  supposed  to  even 
walk,  are  you?" 

"  I'm  not  supposed  to  do  anything  but  sit  here 
like  a  goods  parcel  tied  up  and  labeled  '  To  be  left 
till  called  for.'  I'm  doing  a  dummy  stunt,  while 
somebody  else  plays  my  hand.  You  don't  under- 
stand that,  of  course." 

He  frowned  at  her  because  the  sun  in  his  eyes 
made  it  difficult  for  him  to  see  even  her  face 
properly. 

"  I  know  what  part  of  it  means.  It  refers  to 
business,  I  expect." 

"  Correct.  You  tumble,  as  we  say.  I'm  just  sit- 
ting here  looking  pretty  in  swaddling  clothes  and 
bath  slippers  while  somebody  else  is  jumping  my 
claim.  Oh,  dash  that  sun!" 

"  I  think  it  is  beautiful." 

"  So  you  ought  to.  It  suits  you,  and  it  is  not 
in  your  eyes,  though  I  must  admit  that  to  me  you 
look  like  the  center  of  it.  Say  .  .  .  about  your 
hair.  Will  you  lift  your  head  a  minute?  " 

Partly  in  obedience  and  partly  in  surprise,  Spring 
did  so. 

"  Just  what  I  thought,"  Pendren  continued. 
"  It's  kiddish,  and  crinkly,  and  you  have  scarcely 
started  to  grow  as  yet." 

Immediately  the  girl  fell  back  into  her  former 
position  in  the  hammock. 


ioo  SAMARITAN  MARY 

"  You  mean  my  hair?  It  can't  be  helped.  Mother 
cut  it  short  after  I  had  an  illness,  not  long  ago. 
It's  a  long  time  growing.  Don't  you  think  it  is 
coming  on  wonderfully,  though  ?  " 

She  held  up  a  piece  that  was  in  the  way  of  her 
eyes.  It  had  a  dozen  flickering  lights  in  it,  and 
might  have  been  ruddy  gold,  amber,  or  brilliant 
yellow.  He  thought  that  the  sun  was  in  his  eyes 
again. 

"  Oh,  yes,  I  suppose  it  is  '  coming  on  wonder- 
fully,' as  you  say,  but  I'm  not  an  expert  on  hair- 
growing.  I  know  more  about  tulips  and  gardenias, 
— though  I  don't  suppose  there  would  be  much  dif- 
ference." 

"  I  think  there  is  ever  so  much  difference,"  said 
Spring  smartly. 

"  Tulips  grow  up  and  hair  grows  down." 

He  shaded  his  eyes  to  take  a  good  look  at  her. 

"  What  a  sharp  kid  you  are !  Must  have  been 
fed  on  cutlery  and  scissors  all  your  life."  Spring 
rippled  at  this. 

"  It  isn't  sharp  to  say  a  thing  like  that.  Hair 
does  grow  down.  It  is  quite  natural." 

"  Yes  ...  I  suppose  it  is  quite  natural.  Yours  " 
— finished  Pendren,  then  turned  the  subject.  "  I 
say,  isn't  it  time  you  kept  your  promise?" 

"  I've  forgotten  it.  Is  it  about  telling  you  a 
story?  A  dream  story?" 


SAMARITAN  MARY  101 

"  I'm  inclined  to  think  you  told  me  several  yes- 
terday. That  was  in  the  invisible  game.  I  was 
speculating  on  your  height,  width,  diameter,  and 
circumference,  and  I  find  myself  more  puzzled  than 
ever." 

"Why?" 

"  Because,  in  that  hammock,  all  bunched  up  as 
you  are,  you  look  about  one-half." 

"I'm  not  then!"  Spring's  eyes  sparkled  with 
mischief.  "  I'm  two  halves." 

"  Got  me  again.  You  promised  to  tell  me  your 
name,  how  old  you  were,  and  where  you  came  from, 
in  the  guessing  game." 

"  I  know  I  did,  but  it  was  in  the  guessing  game. 
This  is  real  life." 

"  You  promised  to  tell  me,"  he  insisted,  "  all 
those  things,  after  the  game  was  finished." 

"  My  name  is  Spring." 

"And  the  rest  of  it?" 

"  Glory." 

"  Ah,  Spring  Glory;  and  you  look  like  it.  Now 
for  the  other  things.  Age?" 

"  Seventeen  come  September." 

"  What?  "  He  nearly  bounded  out  of  his  chair. 
"  With  your  hair  like  that  .  .  .  and  .  .  .  and  .  .  . 
the  guessing  game?" 

"  My  hair  isn't  to  blame.  I  told  you  it 
was  cut  off.  The  guessing  game  is  quite  a 


102  SAMARITAN  MARY 

parlor  one.     Mother  plays  it  with  us,  nights,   in 
the  fall." 

Her  lip  quivered  and  curled  in  at  one  corner; 
Pendren  missed  nothing  of  her  emotion.  The 
sensitive  man  in  him  spoke  then. 

"  Your  mother  must  be  a  .   .   .a  brick.  ..." 

"  She  is  a  most  perfect  and  precious  mother. 
None  of  us  are  like  her;  you  never  saw  such  eyes 
.  .  .  and  feet  ...  as  she  has.  Oh,  Mr.  .  .  . 
whatever  your  name  is,  you  would  wonder  that 
mother  could  walk  on  her  feet,  they  are  so 
sweet  and  small.  It  is  almost  a  pity  to  use 
them." 

Half-sitting  up  in  the  hammock  the  girl  swung 
to  the  ground.  Pendren  observed  her  well-rounded 
ankle. 

"  Yes,"  he  said,  smiling  inwardly.  "  There 
ought  to  be  a  carriage  and  a  motor  to  go  with  those 
feet." 

He  was  still  glimpsing  below  the  hammock,  but 
Spring  was  unaware  that  he  was  thinking  of  her 
feet  and  not  her  mother's. 

"  That  is  part  of  my  dream,"  she  said  eagerly. 
"  But  .  .  .  Mr.  What-ever-they-call-you,  how  did 
you  guess?" 

"Guess  what?  That  your  mother  should  have 
a  carriage  to  go  with  her  feet?  Why,  I  have  seen 
them." 


SAMARITAN  MARY  103 

"  Seen  mother's  feet?  Not  really.  Without  her 
heavy  boots  on  ?  " 

"  Without  her  heavy  boots  on,"  repeated  Pen- 
dren.  He  was  still  staring  below  the  ham- 
mock. 

"  It's  impossible,"  she  said.  "  Mother  is  miles 
away  and  you  are  a  stranger." 

"  Not  to  your  mother's  feet.  I  know  them  well. 
I've  watched  them  for  quite  half  an  hour  at  a 
time." 

"You  are  sure  they  were  mother's?"  She  was 
puzzled  beyond  understanding. 

"  They  were  .  .  .  once  upon  a  time !  "  He  added 
as  he  sat  back  in  his  chair  and  shut  his  eyes. 

"  I'm  more  puzzled  than  ever."  Spring  also  fell 
back  into  her  position  in  the  hammock  and  the 
dangling  feet  were  drawn  up  again. 

"  Never  mind  if  you  are,"  said  Pendren.  "  You 
can  work  it  out  later.  Tell  me  about  what  you 
all  guessed  in  the  game  with  your  most  precious 
mother.  " 

"  We  guessed  the  most  cute  and  marvelous 
things.  Sometimes  we  were  birds  or  animals,  and 
sometimes  we  were  just  human  beings  like  you  and 
I,  yesterday."  He  took  this  slowly. 

"  I'm  glad  we  were  human  beings  yesterday.  I 
was  beginning  to  think  I  had  been  a  bad-tempered 
ass." 


io4  SAMARITAN  MARY 

"  I  would  have  guessed  that  quite  easily,"  said 
Spring  with  merriment. 

He  sat  through  this,  and  tried  to  see  if  there  was 
any  caustic  femininity  in  it;  but  there  was  just  a 
wonderful  simplicity  in  her  face  and  somehow  it 
caught  him  as  a  child  might  have,  who  had  taken 
him  by  the  hand. 

"  Miss  Glory,"  he  said  quietly.  "  Where  do  you 
come  from?  " 

"  A  small  farm  with  chickens  and  trees  and  chil- 
dren on  it." 

"Anything  else?" 

"  Yes,  a  ...  a  mortgage." 

The  first  real  break  in  the  conversation  came 
then.  Somehow  the  mortgage  darkened  the  sun- 
light between  them,  and  the  embarrassment  was  on 
his  side. 

"  Say,  your  name  is  Glory,  isn't  it?" 

She  sparkled  again.  "  Yes,  Spring  Glory.  It 
is  written  that  way  in  the  family  Bible." 

"  Oh,  that  doesn't  give  me  much ;  but  your 
mother's  name  ?  Is  that  really  Glory  too  ?  That  is 
what  I  want  to  get  at." 

He  was  suspecting  her  of  subterfuge  because  he 
knew  that  she  thought  him  curious. 

"  She  is  Anna  Glory,"  said  Spring,  with  some 
trembling  uncertainty.  The  young  man  put  up  a 
rebuking  ringer. 


SAMARITAN  MARY  105 

"  Look  here.  Your  eyes  tell  tales.  I  don't  be- 
lieve you  are  telling  me  the  whole  truth." 

"  It  is  as  much  truth  as  anyone  could  expect  who 
tried  to  find  out  real,  real  things  in  a  guessing  game 
anyway." 

She  gave  a  sudden  heave  in  the  hammock. 

"  Oh  .   .   .a  bee,  a  bee!    It  pricked  my  wrist!  " 

He  stood  up,  holding  on  to  his  chair. 

"  Shall  I  kill  it  ?  I  feel  like  killing  something 
.  .  .  where  is  it  ?  " 

Spring  was  sucking  away  at  the  afflicted  part 
like  a  baby,  making  a  loud  noise  with  her  lips. 
When  he  spoke  to  her  she  ceased  this  and  bore  the 
pain  while  she  advised  him  not  to  move. 

"  Don't,  oh  don't  you  try  to  move,  or  walk  along," 
she  pleaded.  "  Mary  said  you  must  not!  " 

"  Nonsense.  I'm  coming  over  to  kill  that  bee. 
It  might  return,  and  I  can't  bear  things  of  that 
kind.  I  don't  want  it  to  start  eating  me." 

He  took  two  uncertain  steps.  They  were  the 
first  he  had  taken  alone  since  his  accident,  and  the 
bath  slippers  were  dragged  rather  than  lifted 
through  the  thick  upturned  chocolate  soil.  Across 
the  patch  was  the  shortest  way  to  her  and  he  took 
it  slowly.  Spring  saw  him  waver,  and  balance, 
like  a  man  walking  a  plank.  Behind  him  was  a 
wake  of  smoothness  in  the  corrugated  earth  that 
he  had  worked  his  feet  through. 


io6  SAMARITAN  MARY 

"  Sit  down !  Oh,  do  sit  down,  Mr.  .  .  .  what- 
ever-your-name-is,"  called  Spring. 

"  Pendren,"  he  said.  "  My  name's  Pendren.  I 
can't  sit  down  in  the  middle  of  the  patch,  can  I  ?  " 

Another  step  or  two,  and  he  lost  one  of  his  slip- 
pers, which  stuck  in  the  soil  and  very  nearly  stayed 
there  altogether. 

"  Very  nearly  did  it,  though,"  he  said,  queerly 
sensitive  of  a  fresh  pain  in  his  body. 

"  I'm  coming  to  meet  you."  Spring  let  herself 
down  slowly  from  the  hammock  and  advanced  to- 
wards him. 

"  Go  back."  The  stern  tones  did  not  make  her 
falter  till  he  had  repeated  them.  "  Go  back ! "  he 
bellowed,  and  stood  frowning  at  her  in  a  regular 
bath  of  dark  clinging  soil.  Spring  drew  in  her  lips 
again.  He  thought  that  she  was  going  to  cry,  but 
her  lips  only  quivered  nervously. 

"  I'm  .   .   .  I'm  quite  strong  enough." 

"  I  told  you  to  go  back,"  he  said  roughly.  His 
face  was  working  with  suppression  of  the  desire 
to  swear  madly  at  the  pain  he  was  suffering. 

"  Do  you  think  I  would  allow  a  girl  to  help 
me  ?  "  he  went  on,  and  muttered  some  short,  sharp 
words  under  his  breath. 

"  Please ! "  came  from  Spring  as  she  still  stood 
there,  near  him,  in  the  patch  of  chocolate  soil.  The 
tearing  pain  in  the  young  man's  shoulder  made  him 


SAMARITAN  MARY  107 

lurch  forward  a  trifle  and  she  thought  that  he  was 
going  to  faint.  Waiting  no  longer,  she  jumped 
the  distance  between  them  and  caught  his  arm 
quickly  and  firmly.  He  never  spoke  as  she  guided 
him  carefully  back  to  his  chair.  Beads  of  perspira- 
tion ran  down  his  face.  His  hair  was  wet  against 
his  forehead  and  he  scarcely  knew  what  she  had 
done,  although  he  was  conscious  of  being  safely 
ensconced  in  the  chair  again. 

Swiftly  and  without  a  word  she  took  her  place 
in  the  hammock  once  more.  Pendren  lay  with  his 
eyes  shut,  but  from  his  lips  came  a  truth  he  had  to 
admit. 

"  You  beat  me  every  time,  Kid  .  .  .  but  by  ... 
Jimmy,  I've  got  your  measurements  correct  at 
last." 


CHAPTER  X 

"  ANYTHING  doing  ?  "  said  Clara,  shutting  the 
door  between  the  kitchen  and  the  rest  of  the 
house. 

Mary  was  sprinkling  a  bundle  of  rough  dry 
wearing  apparel  with  cold  water.  Some  of  it  was 
the  '  change '  belonging  to  Pendren,  and  the  rest 
of  it  Spring's  scanty  underwear. 

"  You'd  think  I  was  qualifying  for  something 
here,  Clara,  if  you'd  seen  things  lately.  Look  at 
that  ?  "  She  held  up  a  fragile  garment  belonging 
to  Spring.  "  And  that " 

She  dropped  a  couple  of  handkerchiefs  and 
socks,  and  a  man's  undervest  upon  the  table.  "  The 
way  things  gets  mussed  up  in  the  wash  is  enough 
prognostications  to  settle  any  question.  Look  here, 
Clara,  I'd  be  as  proud  as  a  peacock  if  my  private 
wardrobe  got  mixed  in  with  that  of  a  handsome, 
good-looking,  interestin',  wealthy  gentleman.  It's 
like  the  shadder  of  what's  comin',  round  the  cor- 
ner; and  if  it  don't  put  that  Graham  P.  business 
right,  and  rule  out  the  Aunt  Susannah  for  good 
and  all,  then  I'll  change  my  job." 

108 


SAMARITAN  MARY  109 

"  Has  anything  happened  ?  "  Clara  looked  sus- 
picious. "  You've  got  a  way,  Mary,  of  getting 
through  a  thing  before  you're  round  it." 

"  The  shortest  way's  the  quickest  and  saves  your 
legs,"  said  Mary. 

"  Tell  us  about  Sunday.  Has  he  seen  her  ?  " 
"  I  never  knew  you  so  impatient,  Glara !  I  de- 
clare you  scare  me.  There  she  was,  lyin'  in  the 
hammock  as  innocent  as  though  she  had  never  been 
born,  and  not  sayin'  as  much  as  a  word,  and  him 
jest  sittin'  there  opposite,  with  not  a  word  either. 
It  was  the  sun-shiniest  day  that  ever  caught  my 
back  garden  unawares,  an'  it  was  the  same  with 
me  when  I  caught  the  pair  of  them  with  not  a 
word  left  between  them.  Out  of  breath  you'd  have 
called  it.  Out  of  good  common  English  language 
more  like,  seem'  there  wasn't  jes'  nothin'  to  de- 
scribe that  situation." 

"  Spring's  lookin'  ever  so  perky,  Mary." 
"  An'  Lancelot,  as  I  prefers  him,  as  well.  I 
guess  I  can't  make  a  cinch  of  the  Quilter  part  of 
him.  This  morning  there  he  was,  settin'  up  jes'  as 
pert  as  you  like  and  askin'  me  if  he  couldn't  do 
something  to  help  us  a  bit.  I'm  well  acquainted 
with  those  symptoms,  Clara.  I  knew  a  man  up — 
Oh,  anywhere,  it  was — and  when  he  takes  to  doin' 
the  chores  about  the  place  for  my  mother,  which 
didn't  suit  his  hands,  nor  his  back,  nor  any  part 


no  SAMARITAN  MARY 

of  him,  any  more'n  it  suited  my  mother,  who  was 
uncommon  particular  the  way  a  thing  was  finished 
off,  well,  everybody  said  there  was  something  doin', 
up  our  way." 

"  He  was  after  you,  I  guess,  Mary?  " 

"  Well,  he  wasn't  exactly  trailin'  mother,  and  her 
with  sixteen  children,  mostly  dead  at  birth,  an'  a 
man  of  her  own  cutting  wood  in  the  yard  as  lively 
as  a  good  healthy  man  could  be.  Sure  he  was  after 
something,  though  ...  it  didn't  turn  out  to  be 
me,  after  all." 

She  lifted  the  lid  of  a  large  steaming  can  on  the 
stove  and  a  red,  raw  lump  of  corned  beef  sprang 
up  in  the  bubbling  water.  This  received  a  spike 
from  the  kitchen-fork  and  it  disappeared  like  a 
great  greasy  whale,  harpoon  and  all.  She  wrenched 
the  fork  out  and  jammed  on  the  lid  again. 

"  Maybe  it  might  have  been  I  wasn't  worth  the 
extra  business;  or  doin'  them  chores  scared  him 
stiff  after  a  bit.  I  often  think  Rachel  and  her  sister 
must  have  been  somethin'  uncommon  good  in  the 
cookin'  and  house-cleanin'  line  for  Jacob  to  take 
on  the  double  time.  But  that's  not  what  I'm  tell'n' 
you,  Clara,  so  you  keep  your  ears  well  open,  but 
don't  let  anything  I  say  get  loose  once  you  got  it 
tight." 

Clara  sat  forward,  tense  with  interest. 

"  You  remember,   Mary,  the  time  I  read  you 


SAMARITAN  MARY  in 

about  Lady  Fitzhumber.  She  was  much  the  same 
cut  as  Spring,  only  a  bit  more  hefty  perhaps  in  the 
swing  of  her  tongue.  Lady  Fitzhumber  was  in 
the  precise  same  predicament,  Mary." 

"  Spring  ain't  in  a  predicament,  Clara  ?  " 

"  She  don't  have  need.  I  got  eyes  and  brains 
and  common  horse  sense.  It  was  Lancelot  told  me 
all  I  wanted  when  he  stopped  rememberin'  to  ask 
for  his  boots.  A  man,  Clara,  as  has  urgent,  imme- 
diate hurry  in  his  business  today  and  forgets  to 
ask  for  his  boots  tomorrow  has  only  one  kind  of 
mind." 

"What  is  it?" 

"  It's  .  .  .  mind  your  own  business,  Clara,  and 
listen  some  more." 

Mary  rolled  a  sheet  of  golden  dough  on  the  table 
and  looked  at  the  clock. 

"  Must  get  these  into  the  oven  or  there'll  be 
trouble  in  the  Amen  Corner.  Have  you  ever  no- 
ticed, Clara,  that  the  brother  who  keeps  up  the 
Amen  business  good  and  hard  right  through  the 
meetin'  does  a  sight  more'n  anybody  else  to  help 
sech  things  along?  He's  thinkin'  all  the  time  and 
is  apt  to  be  wide  awake  for  the  finish  when  he's 
watchin'  the  prayer  or  the  hymn.  That  is  what 
I  mean  when  I  say  there  may  be  trouble  in  the  Amen 
Corner  if  these  doughnuts  is  not  to  hand.  Our 
stomachs  is  much  the  same  as  the  brother  watchin' 


ii2  SAMARITAN  MARY 

out  an'  apt  to  be  ready  before  things  is  through. 
...  I  mind  the  time  when  Deacon  Heddy  had  a 
fit  of  hay  fever  and  sneezes  right  through  the 
prayer.  Well,  Brother  Brown  was  there  in  the 
corner  turnin'  the  Amen  on  half-way  be  mistake 
every  time  Deacon  takes  a  fit,  and  turnin'  it  off 
again  when  he  discovers  Deacon  still  goin'  express. 
He  gets  so  'mazed  presently  that  he  gives  it  up 
altogether,  and  the  prayer  over,  Deacon  looks 
around  for  the  Amen,  but  nobody  anxious  or  helpin' 
him  a  morsel,  so  he  says  it  himself  before  he  has 
another  fit." 

She  shut  the  oven  door  and  turned  to  Clara, 
putting  up  a  floury  hand. 

"  Clara,  you  ain't  to  guess  any  when  I  tell  you 
I'm  the  whole  box  o'  tricks  on  that  Q.  L.  P.  Yes- 
terday, Benjamin  leaves  me  suddenlike  after  Sun- 
day School  and  takes  up  with  Deacon  Heddy,  who 
goes  right  along  past  your  very  gate.  ..." 

Clara  bounced  from  her  chair  as  if  she  had  been 
thrown  to  her  feet,  but  instantly  she  rescued  a  sew- 
ing needle  out  of  the  flare  of  her  skirt  and  showed 
it  to  Mary. 

"  It's  good  you  found  it  before  you  set  on  it, 
Clara.  Benjamin,  as  I  was  saying,  goes  off.  ..." 

'  You  was  tellin'  me  things  on  account  of  Spring 
and  the  gentleman,"  interrupted  Clara  once  more. 

"  I'd  forgot  him,"  said  Mary,  smiling,  "  like  as 


SAMARITAN  MARY  113 

not  I'd  forget  those  doughnuts.  As  I  said,  I'd  the 
pick  of  a  good  walk  to  myself,  and  enjoyed  it  thor- 
ough, as  it  give  me  the  chance  to  get  acquainted 
with  a  fresh  line  of  interest  in  me  own  thoughts. 
I  hits  my  back  garden  jest  as  usual  an'  comes  on 
them  two  like  as  if  I'd  kind  of  been  expected. 
There  was  Spring  sucking  the  back  of  her  hand 
like  a  baby  and  not  a  word  out  of  either  of  them. 
All  the  time  Lancelot  was  lookin'  up  into  the  sky, 
for  all  the  world  like  as  if  he  was  dreadin'  it  might 
rain  before  he  could  get  full  use  of  his  legs,  and 
perhaps  it  bothering  him  some,  seein'  a  man  with 
his  trouble  might  jes'  as  well  have  been  born  a 
cart  without  a  horse  to  drag  it.  But  no  matter 
what  was  wrong  with  his  power  to  get  about  be 
himself,  that  hitchin'  up  of  his  eyes  to  the  heavens 
wasn't  altogether  the  right  place  for  puttin'  a  blind 
on  me.  I  never  did  trust  things  to  be  usual  when 
a  man  has  need  to  look  higher  than  a  girl  like 
Spring  for  company.  Shows  there's  somethin'  be- 
low his  nose  he's  avoidin',  and  why?  Because  his 
conscience  is  right  there  too  and  pullin'  him  to  do 
something  he  don't  want  to  for  some  reason.  I 
don't  mind  sayin',  all  the  same,  Clara,  that  it's  the 
contrary  ways  of  a  man  like  that  that  counts,  an' 
once  he  looks  Spring  properly  in  the  face,  it'll  take 
twelve  horses  and  a  row  of  automobiles  to  get  him 
away  from  her.  And  see  here.  ..." 


ii4  SAMARITAN  MARY 

She  stepped  nearer  to  Clara. 

"  '  It's  good/  I  says  to  him;  '  you  set  quiet  and 
let  the  sun  warm  up  some  natural  life  in  you.  If 
I'd  been  tied  be  the  legs  I'd  have  found  it  worse'n 
a  lot  of  things — havin'  to  set  still  the  whole  time 
an'  never  as  much  as  a  walk  down  the  gar- 
den.' 

" '  Yes,'  he  says,  slowlike,  tipping  one  eye  a  bit 
to  me. 

"  *  I'll  take  you  in  meself,  not  waitin'  for  Ben- 
jamin, as  has  other  jobs  on  this  afternoon,'  I  says. 
'  Think  you  can  walk  a  bit,  leanin'  on  me  ? '  An' 
he  gladdens  on  that,  an'  I'm  mortal  afraid  he's  been 
havin'  another  kind  of  a  fit  of  sickness. 

"  '  Guess  you're  as  stiff  as  a  rod,  settin'  so  long,' 
I  says,  careful  to  notice  his  feet  was  still  on  the 
hemp-mat  I  put  under  them  meself  when  I  went  to 
the  meetm'. 

'  Pretty  sore,'  he  says,  an'  loses  one  of  his  slip- 
pers right  off  the  start.  That  told  me  in  one  second 
more'n  the  whole  information  bureau  of  Sherlock 
Holmes  and  other  eye-openers.  The  slipper  turns 
up  wrong  side,  which  to  my  mind  was  the  precise 
right  side  for  my  argument,  and  on  the  sole  was 
enough  of  the  damp  of  that  patch  Benjamin  dug 
up  only  the  day  before  to  make  Lancelot  qualify  for 
the  all-round,  cross-country  gold  cup  prize.  I  kep' 
my  information,  Clara,  and  I'm  not  wondering 


SAMARITAN  MARY  115 

quite  so  much  now  why  he  tried  to  cross  that  patch. 
And  ..."  she  added,  looking  hard  at  Clara,  "  if 
that  don't  start  the  Graham  P.  and  the  Aunt  Su- 
sannah business  running  down  the  sink,  then  it's 
not  dirty  water  I'm  trying  to  get  rid  of." 


CHAPTER  XI 

"  MY  DEAREST,  most  beautiful  Mother : 

"  Ever  since  I  ran  away  I  have  missed  you  most 
dreadfully,  but  the  thought  that  I  have  overthrown 
Aunt  Susannah  helps  me  bear  it  a  whole  lot.  Do 
you  think  we  ought  to  apologize  to  her?  I  know 
it  was  me  that  ran  away,  but  then  as  the  parent  is 
responsible  until  the  child  is  twenty-one,  perhaps 
you  ought  to  do  it  and  make  the  best  excuses  you 
can.  Do,  dear  parent!  The  best  thing  might  be 
to  tell  her  I  am  not  old  enough  yet  to  understand 
her  ways,  and  by  no  means  the  kind  of  person  to 
be  put  in  charge  of  the  ornaments  on  her  whatnot. 
Also  you  had  better  tell  her  how  subject  to  colds 
I  am,  and  how  I  sneezed  until  the  Liberty  statue 
fell  off  our  bureau  once,  and  broke  in  three  pieces. 
"  Forgive  me,  most  delicious  Mother,  for  asking 
you  to  write  the  letter,  but  I  can  make  it  up  to 
you  presently  when  Mary  gets  me  the  work  she 
says  she  has  in  mind  for  me.  It  is  her  opinion  that 
we  ought  to  make  some  kind  of  apology  to  Aunt 
Susannah.  She  says  it's  best  not  to  quarrel  with 
anyone  quite  so  rich,  and  quite  so  likely  to  die  any 
day  now. 

116 


SAMARITAN  MARY  117 

"  Since  coming  here  I've  been  busy  getting 
'  fatted-up  '  in  bed,  same  as  you  '  fat '  the  chickens 
when  you  think  they  won't  be  ready  in  time  for 
Christmas,  or  Thanksgiving. 

"  I  don't  really  know  if  Mary  is  preparing  me 
for  anything  like  Christmas,  or  Thanksgiving,  in 
her  mind;  but  there's  a  young  man  from  the  city 
who  came  part  of  the  way  in  his  own  automobile, 
and  the  rest  on  a  stretcher,  which  Mary  had  to 
borrow,  and  for  which  she  paid  the  other  day  out 
of  the  fruit  money.  Why  he  came  on  the  stretcher 
was  because  the  accident  happened  right  on  top 
of  him  just  as  he  got  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Hetty's 
place.  You  remember  Mary  telling  you  that  I  just 
escaped  that  part  of  the  affair  by  letting  go  the 
tail-board  of  Jerry  Grab's  cart  in  time.  I  could 
never  contradict  Mary,  but  truly,  Mother  darling, 
it  wasn't  that  I  had  anything  to  do  with  letting  go 
that  tail-board  before  the  crash.  Something  just 
pushed  me  off,  and  if  I'd  had  any  say  in  the  matter 
I'd  have  clung  on  like  the  tapes  on  my  petticoats, 
and  never,  never  have  budged  an  inch.  I  must  tell 
you  this  because  I  don't  want  you  to  think  I  deserve 
any  credit  really  for  remaining  out  of  the  accident 
when  the  poor  young  man  had  no  choice. 

"  Sometimes  I  rest  in  a  hammock,  all  red  and 
blue  twine,  and  practice  how  to  get  out  and  in, 
without  showing  any  more  of  my  stockings  than 


n8  SAMARITAN  MARY 

you  do  when  you  wash  out  the  porch,  and  Zek 
Barkin  passes  by  the  fence  with  his  slow  leg  drag- 
ging after  him,  poor  fellow.  Usually  when  I'm  in 
the  hammock,  Mr.  Pendren  sits  up  as  well  as  he 
can  in  a  basket-chair,  all  pillows,  and  a  hemp-mat 
under  his  feet.  Mary  told  me  today  she  wants 
me  to  watch  him,  and  I've  only  just  discovered  that 
it  isn't  because  she  really  distrusts  him,  or  that  he'd 
steal  the  things  in  the  yard — because  of  course  he's 
a  gentleman,  and  possibly  got  more  than  he  wants 
at  home — but  because  she  thinks  I  might  turn  out 
good  at  nursing.  We've  been  discussing  that  sort 
of  thing  lately  and  seeing  the  knowledge  I  have 
now  of  children  and  bed-making  and  of  rubbing 
Milly's  teeth  every  night  till  they  bite  through,  and 
how  to  use  the  blue  bag  on  a  swelling,  or  a  bee 
bite,  I  should  just  about  think  I  might  qualify  with 
a  little  more  experience. 

"  But  experience  with  the  children  isn't  helping 
me  so  far  with  this  young  man.  You  can't  do 
much  for  a  man  like  we've  got  here  because  he's 
certainly  too  stupid  and  doesn't  care  for  you  to 
fuss  about  him.  Why,  he  couldn't  even  play  the 
guessing  game  without  stopping  every  minute  to 
argue  or  explain  something.  But  then,  perhaps 
he  hadn't  a  fair  chance,  seeing  we  were  in  different 
parts  of  the  house  and  had  to  call  out  extra  loud 
to  make  anything  of  it  at  all.  Then  again,  I  don't 


SAMARITAN  MARY  119 

think  he  need  be  stupid  at  all,  because  he  is  cer- 
tainly very  clever  about  some  things. 

"  Evidently  he  knows  something  of  our  family, 
because  he  spoke  of  your  beautiful  little  feet, 
Mother.  That  is,  he  said  really  wise  things  about 
them  and  called  you  a  '  brick '  when  I  was  dis- 
cussing the  subject.  Perhaps  he  passed  our  porch 
when  you  were  sending  the  children  off  to  school 
in  your  good,  kind  way;  or  else  he's  watched  you 
washing  the  step  with  your  back  to  the  road  when 
Zek  Barkin  didn't  happen  to  be  around.  I  expect 
I  shall  find  out  later  on,  but  I'll  take  good  care  not 
to  tell  him  exactly  where  we  live  or  what  our  name 
is  until  I  find  out  whether  he  knows  it. 

"  Mary  is  a  wonderful  woman  and  does  more  in 
a  day  than  most  people  could  get  into  two  without 
going  to  bed  till  everybody  else  is  asleep  and  even 
the  cat  and  kittens  settled.  It's  a  lesson  to  me. 

"And  what  else  do  you  think?  Benjamin  of 
the  yard,  a  really  kind-hearted,  plain,  but  hard- 
working boy  helping  here,  took  the  horse  out  yes- 
terday and  brought  back  Mr.  Pendren's  automo- 
bile. It  wheeled  along  quite  easily,  but  the  horse 
had  to  be  the  engine  or  it  would  never  have  got 
here  at  all.  Two  or  three  men  about  came  and 
had  a  look  at  it,  and  they  say  it  is  in  quite  a  bad 
condition.  It  will  have  to  be  nursed  in  Jake  Heldy's 
shed,  because  he  keeps  everything  there,  and  Mary 


120  SAMARITAN  MARY 

for  some  reason  won't  have  it  in  the  yard.  I  be- 
lieves she  thinks  it  might  start  running  over  every- 
body and  there  has  been  enough  damage  done  now. 
All  the  same,  I  wonder  why  she  doesn't  get  rid 
of  the  horse.  It  was  Jerry  Grab's  horse  upset 
things  before. 

"  Clara  Hopkins  is  also  a  nice  kind  of  woman, 
very  thin  and  interesting.  Sometimes  she  snaps  at 
Mary  as  if  she  meant  to  bite,  but  Mary  says  it's 
her  manner  of  showing  how  concerned  she  is.  She 
hasn't  done  it  to  me  yet,  but  Benjamin  of  the 
yard  got  two  doses,  one  on  top  of  the  other,  the 
other  night.  I  will  remember  to  keep  my  hair  tied 
back  as  you  say,  dearest,  most  beautiful  Mother. 
It  will  be  long  enough  to  hold  the  pins  soon,  I  hope. 

"  Now  Mr.  Pendren  is  calling  me.  My  love  to 
all.  Lots  of  it ! 

"  SPRING  GLORY  ROPER." 

The  girl  looked  up  from  her  writing.  The  "  el- 
lergint  "  young  gentleman  called  again. 

"  Miss  Glory !  I  wish  you  wouldn't  write  so 
much." 

"  It's  only  a  very  little,  really.  It's  to  my  most 
beautiful  mother." 

The  sun  shone  on  her  uncovered  hair  as  she  sat 
just  inside  the  porch  and  young  Pendren  caught  a 
hundred  different  shades  in  it.  Then  he  held  her 


SAMARITAN  MARY  121 

eyes  a  minute.  They  possessed  a  wonderful  soft- 
ness and  the  thoughts  behind  them  transmitted  tiny 
little  flickering  lights  that  ran  in  and  out  of  the 
pupils.  It  was  always  so  when  she  spoke  of  her 
mother. 

"  You've  been  talking  about  that  mortgage,  I 
can  see,"  he  said.  "  Now  listen  to  me;  what  are 
you  doing  in  this  house,  and  why  aren't  you  away 
home  Helping  your  mother  ?  " 

Spring  dropped  her  eyes  and  her  lips  quivered. 

"  I  can't  help  my  mother,  away  home,  nearly  as 
much  as  I  .  .  .  as  I  can  if  I  .  .  . " 

As  if  she  had  been  called  from  the  kitchen,  Mary 
Settler  appeared  on  the  porch. 

"  You're  neglectin'  your  job,  Spring,"  she  said, 
measuring  things  mentally.  "  Run  into  the  parlor 
and  jes'  turn  the  mattress  across  the  winder  to  air 
a  bit.  Mr.  Pendren  never  sleeps  so  sound  as  when 
the  bed's  had  a  real  good  punchin'  to  make  it  lie 
down  proper." 

She  watched  till  Spring  quickly  folded  away  her 
writing  paper  and  tucked  the  home-letter  into  her 
waist. 

Pendren  looked  horrified. 

"  Does  .  .  .  does  Miss  Glory  always  do  that  .  .  . 
do  things  like  that  ?  "  he  asked. 

Mary  appeared  fogged  a  moment. 

"  You're  meanin'  Spring,  I  suppose." 


122  SAMARITAN  MARY 

"  Yes.  Does  she  have  to  do  that  sort  of  thing? 
I  mean  with  the  mattress  and  all  the  bother  I  must 
be  making  here?  " 

"  Indeed  I  wouldn't  have  her  lazy  on  my  hands 
and  be  responsible  to  her  mother  afterwards," 
said  Mary.  "  What  made  you  call  her  Miss 
Glory?" 

Pendren  shrugged  his  shoulders. 

"  I'm  afraid  I'm  old-fashioned  enough,  Miss  Set- 
tler, not  to  call  her  by  her  first  name  until  she  gave 
me  leave." 

Mary  took  it  calmly.  She  had  been  watching  the 
two  for  some  days  and  any  developments  were 
quickly  encouraged. 

"  And  you  prefer  it  to  be  Miss  Glory,  then  ?  " 

"  Decidedly.  I  wish  she  hadn't  to  bother  with 
my  things.  I  know  I'm  a  perfect  nuisance.  Why 
don't  you  .  .  .  oh,  hang  it.  I'll  get  someone  down 
to  fix  up  that  car  and  I'll  get  along.  You've  all 
been  just  splendid  to  me,  but  I  ought  to  be 
moving." 

Mary  looked  round  to  see  if  Spring  was  return- 
ing before  she  spoke. 

"  You  can't  delay  too  long  on  that  back  of  yours, 
young  man,"  she  said  kindly.  "  Backs  isn't  what 
they  was  in  my  time;  and  you  can't  get  another  to 
take  its  place  if  you  go  cracking  up  that  one." 

"  Well,  I  must  make  a  start  to  get  used  to  doing 


SAMARITAN  MARY  123 

things,  anyway.  I  think  I  might  have  my  boots  on, 
don't  you?" 

"  Havin'  your  boots  on  won't  get  you  started 
anywhere  if  your  back  isn't  of  a  mood  to  comply 
with  'em.  Talkin'  of  boots,  did  you  bring  down  a 
pair  when  you  had  that  tumble  into  Miss  Hetty's 
lilac  bushes  ?  " 

"  Why,  of  course  I  did.  They  couldn't  have 
dropped  off  my  feet  just  because  I  was  smashed 
up  in  the  middle." 

Mary  spread  wide,  gesticulating  hands  before 
her. 

"  I've  heard  of  worse  in  a  railroad  accident. 
There  was  a  woman  once  lost  every  stitch  she  had 
on  her,  and  when  she  come  to  reason  she  had  to 
get  up  and  walk  home  in  a  couple  of  newspapers 
somebody  had  been  readin'  in  the  car.  It's  likely 
your  boots  went  the  same  sort  of  way  without  you 
knowin'  it." 

"  But  I  remember  .  .  .  no,  I'm  hanged  if  I  do 
remember  any  boots.  Could  we  ask  Miss  Hetty 
if  she  knows  anything  about  them?" 

"  I  brought  every  stitch  you  owned  away  meself, 
and  I  figger  it  out  there  weren't  boots  among  the 
lot" 

This  was  perfectly  true,  because  Benjamin  had 
carried  the  boots  over  the  next  day,  having  been 
given  them  by  Miss  Hetty. 


i24  SAMARITAN  MARY 

"  Well,  isn't  there  a  store  about  somewhere  ? 
Would  you  be  so  good  as  to  send  up  and  inquire  if 
they  keep  my  size  ?  " 

Mary  began  to  feel  warm  in  the  cheeks.  How- 
ever she  soon  found  a  way  out  of  it. 

"  The  kind  Jake  Heldy  keeps  would  raise  a 
blister  on  your  toes  and  your  temper  in  half  an 
hour,"  she  said.  "  You  leave  it  to  me,  and  if  it's 
boots  needed,  then  it's  boots  you'll  have." 

Spring  was  returning,  so  she  went  back  to  the 
kitchen,  but  all  the  time  she  kept  her  nearside  ear 
well  towards  the  door,  and  every  now  and  then 
found  occasion  to  go  to  the  porch  for  some  reason 
or  other. 

"  So,"  she  said  mentally  once  as  she  dodged  about 
inside,  "  she's  usin'  her  second  name  on  him  to  try 
out.  I  should  say  '  Glory '  was  about  as  good  a 
name  as  any  to  carry  things  through;  though  how 
she  came  to  think  of  it  beats  me.  Suppose  she's 
havin'  a  kind  of  a  game  on  her  own.  Minds  me 
of  the  time  I  surprised  somebody  meself." 

The  good  woman  stirred  something  in  a  saucepan 
slowly  and  gently  to  the  tune  of  her  own  thoughts. 

"  It's  curious  that  I  ever  could  have  made  believe 
me  name  was  Daffodil  'stead  of  plain  Mary. 
Plain  .  .  .  Mary,  with  the  plain  things  of  life  right 
under  me  very  nose  to  make  me  remember  it.  Still 
I  was  Daffodil  for  a  summer  .  .  once  and  . 


SAMARITAN  MARY  125 

somebody  else  thought  it  suited  me.     Somehow  I 
had  a  notion  all  the  time  it  was  a  misfit." 


In  the  glow  of  a  full  day  the  young  man  was 
sitting  gazing  at  Spring. 

"  I'm  afraid  I'm  a  great  nuisance  to  you,  Miss 
Glory,"  he  said. 

"  Not  to  me."  Spring  sparkled  a  moment,  then 
grew  very  still. 

"  Perhaps  we  are  both  a  good  bit  of  trouble  to 
Mary,  but  she  seems  to  like  it.  After  all  we  won't 
be  a  bother  always  and  we'll  have  it  all  to  remem- 
ber afterwards." 

What  they  would  have  to  remember  was  not 
quite  clear  to  the  young  man,  but  he  let  it  pass  as 
he  did  many  things,  at  times. 

"But  you're  a  permanency  here,  aren't  you? 
You  don't  move  on  ?  " 

Spring  looked  slightly  depressed. 

"  I  don't  want  to  move  on,"  she  said,  "  but  I 
ought  to.  You  see,  it's  a  kind  of  business  affair, 
even  though  it's  relatives." 

"  You  mean  your  moving  on,  or  staying  here,  is 
a  matter  of  business,  and  concerns  your  relatives? 
Funny  thing  it  cuts  me  that  way,  too.  I  ought 
to  move  on  because  it  is  a  business  affair  and 
concerns  my  relatives.  But  I  can't,  for  all 
that." 


126  SAMARITAN  MARY 

Mary  crept  nearer  the  kitchen  door,  but  did  not 
show  her  face. 

"  It's  my  Aunt  Susannah,  or  rather  my  father's 
Aunt  Susannah,"  Spring  explained.  "  Mother  and 
our  family  don't  want  her  quite  as  near  as  that. 
We'd  prefer  her  to  be  our  grandfather's  aunt  if  it 
could  be;  but  you  can't  put  your  relations  back  like 
that  as  if  they  were  dusty  ornaments  on  a  shelf. 
Anyway,  she  promised  mother  seven  dollars  a 
month  for  me,  but  I  ...  I  ran  away  from  it." 

"  I  should  think  you  did.  Seven  dollars  .  .  . 
wheufT!!!" 

Mary  thought  it  was  about  time  she  put  her 
foot  on  the  porch.  She  had  an  idea  that  Spring 
was  going  to  creep  into  some  very  close  confidences 
with  the  young  man  and  that  they  might  just  spoil 
her  schemes  as  they  were  ripening  beautifully. 

"  Seven  dollars,  mind  you,"  Mary  took  up  the 
young  man's  disgusted  tone.  "  Why,  if  you  was 
dressed  up  a  bit  extra,  Spring,  and  had  white  socks 
on  your  feet,  and  your  hair  left  as  it  is  all  fussed 
out  with  a  blue  ribbon  bow  on  it,  I  should  say  you'd 
fetch  more  like  seventy  dollars  in  a  Fifth  Avenue 
doll  department." 

The  two  laughed  delightedly. 

Mary  lingered.  "  You  don't  blame  Miss  Glory, 
do  you,  Mr.  Pendren,  sir,  for  up  and  doing  what 
she  did,  when  the  best  her  Aunt  Susannah  could  do 


SAMARITAN  MARY  127 

for  her  was  seven  dollars  per  month  and  speak 
when  you're  spoke  to,  and  mind  the  step  every  two 
minutes  of  the  day.  I'm  proud  she  had  a  mind 
to  run  away  at  the  tail  of  Jerry  Grab's  greengrocery 
cart,  the  same  being,  sir,  the  one  that  clean  sat  on 
you  and  your  auto,  harness,  vegetables,  and  all." 

"  We're  .  .  .  friends  in  adversity,"  Pendren 
said  to  Spring.  "  Do  you  know  ..." 

Mary  left  the  porch.  It  was  as  well  she  did,  for 
evidently  Quilter  Lancelot  Pendren  had  quite  for- 
gotten her  existence.  He  leaned  as  far  as  the  chair 
would  let  him,  gazing  to  where  the  girl  sat.  For 
some  minutes  he  went  on  talking,  briskly  and  ear- 
nestly. It  was  not  in  Mary  to  stay  any  longer. 

"  Out  goes  the  Aunt  Susannah,"  she  remarked 
complaisantly  to  herself  as  she  started  to  cut  a  pro- 
digious pumpkin. 


CHAPTER  XII 

SPRING  went  right  through  her  short  term  of 
probation  as  nurse  to  Mary's  patient  with  little 
trouble  to  herself  or  anybody  else.  It  is  true  that 
she  was  possibly  a  little  "  bossy  "  at  times  on  account 
of  the  early  training  she  had  had  for  so  long  with 
several  small  sisters,  and  which  now  she  applied 
with  youthful  ignorance  to  the  young  man  prac- 
tically left  in  her  charge. 

Quilter  Lancelot  Pendren  took  time  to  recover. 
It  bothered  him  a  good  deal  that  he  had  made  no 
agreement  with  Mary  Settler  to  pay  for  his  board. 
The  good  woman  made  it  so  evident  that  she  re- 
garded him  more  in  the  light  of  a  friend  staying  in 
her  house  than  a  summer  boarder  that  there  never 
had  been  a  chance  of  discussing  the  matter  of 
finance. 

But  that  he  knew  could  be  settled  more  easily 
than  his  debt  to  the  girl  who  almost  untiringly  at- 
tended to  him,  carried  his  cushions,  and  sat  with 
him  in  the  long  glory  of  the  dying  evenings,  or  in 
the  warmer  and  more  uncomfortable  parts  of  the 
day. 

Pendren  had  learned  from  Spring's  confidence 
128 


SAMARITAN  MARY  129 

that  her  people  had  a  serious  struggle  for  the  means 
of  existence,  and  became  thoroughly  uncomfortable 
about  her  services  for  him.  Because  she  was  of 
such  fine  grain  and  delicate  mold,  it  distressed  him 
to  think  that  she  also  was  involved  in  this  struggle; 
but  the  suggestion  that  he  should  pay  for  her  atten- 
tion seemed  like  turning  her  into  a  kind  of  servant, 
and  he  felt  afraid  to  even  speak  of  it.  Touching 
on  the  matter  lightly  one  day  with  Mary  Settler, 
he  got  the  information  that  a  fresh  experience  was 
worth  everything  to  Spring  after  years  of  head- 
nurse  duties  to  her  mother's  children.  He  did  not 
know  that  the  seven  dollars  sent  to  Mrs.  Roper, 
tied  up  in  a  piece  of  a  newspaper,  together  with  a 
jar  of  cranberry  jelly,  had  already  supplied  the  first 
installment  of  Spring's  earnings. 

Events  took  a  turn  one  day  when  Spring  was 
indoors  attending  to  the  preparation  of  a  meal. 
Suddenly  annoyed  at  the  fact  of  the  doctor  having 
refused  to  allow  him  to  try  any  length  of  walking 
by  himself,  Pendren,  who  was  furiously  impatient 
at  waiting  for  other  people  to  do  the  things  for  him 
that  he  was  itching  to  do  for  himself,  deliberately 
disobeyed  orders.  Gripping  his  chair  with  both 
hands,  he  rose  to  his  feet  and  began  to  make  to- 
wards the  porch. 

If  he  could  have  done  the  distance  in  a  short 
run  it  might  have  been  an  easy  matter,  but  it  re- 


i3o  SAMARITAN  MARY 

quired  some  steady  stepping  which  he  wasn't  up  to, 
and  before  he  had  gone  half  the  distance  he  went 
on  his  knees;  then,  feeling  unhappy  and  feverish 
about  his  venture,  started  to  crawl  the  rest  of  the 
way.  In  getting  to  the  porch  he  stumbled  and  fell 
with  one  hand  twisted  under  him.  His  whole  arm 
suffered  a  nasty  jar,  snapped  somewhere,  and  then 
hung  limply  as  if  it  had  no  intention  of  coming 
back  to  its  proper  position  again.  Clinging  on  to 
the  trellis  of  the  porch  with  his  other  hand,  he 
tried  to  work  the  hurt  one,  but  it  flopped  horribly 
and  was  starting  to  swell  near  the  root  of  his  thumb. 

"  Confound  my  luck !  "  he  said  irritably.  Spring 
had  just  then  come  out  of  the  house.  He  looked 
up  as  if  he  had  been  caught  stealing. 

With  the  wounded  wrist  placed  behind  him,  he 
met  her  eyes,  and  tried  to  talk  as  if  there  was  noth- 
ing the  matter.  All  the  time  he  was  feeling  thor- 
oughly sick  with  the  pain. 

"  I  thought  that  I'd  take  a  turn  by  myself.  I  ... 
I  ...  got  on  ...  pretty  well." 

Spring  came  to  him  as  he  stood  there  clinging 
to  the  trellis.  With  a  wonderful  quiet  in  her  eyes, 
she  placed  her  shoulder  ready  without  a  word. 

"  I  can  manage,"  said  Pendren.  "  I've  got  so 
far.  Please  let  me  do  the  rest." 

"  Put  your  left  arm  round  my  shoulder."  The 
voice  was  Spring's,  but  the  authority  came  from 


SAMARITAN  MARY  131 

somewhere  back  in  the  generations.  Pendren  hesi- 
tated. 

"  I'm  never  going  to  let  you  take  my  weight,  Miss 
Glory.  If  I  can't  manage  we  can  call  Miss  Settler. 
I  don't  mind  her  so  much,  but  you're  just  a  ... 
baby." 

"  Mary's  not  back  from  Mrs.  Spinney's  yet.  Put 
your  arm  round  my  shoulder.  I'm  quite  tall 
enough.  We  can  go  slowly." 

"  Please  call  Benjamin.  I  could  never  allow  you 
to  do  this." 

Then  he  grew  impatient.  "  Can't  you  see  that 
I  refuse  to  budge  till  you  do?" 

Spring  listened  to  him  calmly  but  she  never 
moved  an  inch. 

"  Benjamin  has  gone  out  somewhere  and  there  is 
only  me.  Now,  please.  ..." 

"  I  refuse  to  allow  you."  His  eyes  met  hers  as 
she  turned  away,  exasperated.  In  both  faces  there 
was  a  sudden  flashing  of  temper. 

"  Not  if  I  drop  here  as  I  am,  will  I  let  you  take 
my  weight,"  he  said.  "  You  beat  me  once,  and 
I  ...  I  seem  to  see  you  drooping  that  shoulder 
ever  since.  Nice  sort  of  thing  for  a  man  with  any 
kind  of  sense  to  allow.  What  sort  of  a  .  .  .a  per- 
son .  .  ." 

He  was  suffering  both  with  the  strain  of  standing 
so  long  and  with  the  broken  wrist.  She  saw  his 


132  SAMARITAN  MARY 

face  change.  It  grew  livid  about  his  mouth  and 
sweat  started  from  his  hair  and  trickled  down  his 
face. 

"  Please  .  .  . "  began  Spring,  dropping  all  au- 
thoritative measures.  "  You  can't  get  up  your- 
self." 

He  bit  on  his  lower  lip.  "  I  can.  For  Heaven's 
sake,  don't  argue!  Give  me  room." 

She  caught  at  his  arm.  "  I  won't  let  you.  Oh, 
why  won't  you  be  obedient  ?  " 

"  I  told  you  why  before.  Please  allow  me  to 
manage  for  myself;  you're  hindering  me." 

Spring  stepped  away  and  turned  her  back.  A 
little  burst  of  warm  temper  held  her  just  a  moment. 

"Very  well;  and  if  you  fall  and  do  any  more 
damage  it  will  serve  you  right." 

Hardly  had  she  said  it  than  he  collapsed  behind 
her  and  went  sprawling  from  the  step  to  the  ground. 

"There  ..."  It  was  all  she  could  say  as  she 
flew  to  his  side  and  lifted  him  to  a  half -sitting 
position  against  her  shoulder. 

He  had  almost  fainted,  and  for  a  time  she  held 
him  leaning  against  her.  He  was  incapable  of  even 
pulling  himself  further. 

"  It  .  .  .  it's  my  fault,"  she  said  miserably.  "  I 
should  never  have  allowed  you  to  .  .  . " 

"  Oh,  don't  be  silly  .  .  .  Spring!  "  He  was  too 
weak  and  hopelessly  ill  at  ease  lying  there  on  the 


SAMARITAN  MARY  133 

corrugated  surface  of  the  yard  to  regard  having 
called  her  by  her  name. 

"  I'm  not  silly,  I'm  just  mad  with  myself." 

He  began  to  laugh  queerly  and  the  sweat  came 
down  his  hair  again. 

"  Little  idiot,"  he  said,  and  deliberately,  to  steady 
himself,  now  that  he  was  beginning  to  recover,  put 
the  uninjured  arm  right  round  her  neck. 

"  Can  you  raise  yourself  carefully  if  I  hold  you 
from  the  waist?  " 

"  I  don't  intend  to  try,"  he  said.  She  looked 
horrified. 

He  was  leaning  against  the  step,  one  arm  round 
her  neck,  and  she  had  applied  to  such  a  position 
the  only  meaning  possible  to  her  simple  mind. 

"  Listen  to  me,"  he  said.  "  I  hate  to  bully  you 
because  you  have  been  so  much  of  an  angel,  and 
besides  you  are  too  sweet  and  pretty  to  bully  .  .  . 
but  I  can't  help  it.  I  have  never  let  a  woman  have 
her  way  over  me  yet,  and  if  you're  going  to  be  the 
first  one  then  I'm  going  to  die  hard  .  .  .  fight- 
ing." 

Much  of  this  was  beyond  Spring;  she  was  trem- 
bling slightly  and  rather  nervous. 

"  Did  you  understand  that  ?  "  he  asked,  tighten- 
ing his  hold  on  her  neck  so  that  her  face  was  drawn 
round  for  him  to  look  right  into. 

"  But  ...  I    don't   want   you    to   die    on    the 


i34  SAMARITAN  MARY 

ground,"  she  said  with  quivering  lip  and  her  eyes 
shaded  from  his  keen  scrutiny. 

"  I'll  die  wherever  I  want  to.  Right  here  with 
my  arm  round  your  neck,  if  I  like.  You  are  only 
a  very  small  person,  remember,  though  lately  you 
seem  to  have  grown  like  a  lily  in  the  night.  Now 
we've  got  that  over,  suppose  you  just  shunt  me 
on  to  my  side  and  I'll  see  if  I  can't  crawl  to  the 
house  with  you  alongside,  playing  mother  crab." 

"  I  wonder  you  can  joke  when  you've  hurt  your- 
self so,"  said  Spring  brokenly. 

"  It  isn't  a  joke.  You  watch  me."  He  dropped 
his  arm  from  her  neck  and  managed  to  turn  to  his 
knees  again;  but  immediately  he  started  to  crawl 
along,  the  injured  wrist  gave  under  him  and  he 
went  down  flat  on  his  face. 

Spring  jumped  to  her  feet.  She  had  remained 
watching  him  where  he  had  left  her  kneeling  on 
the  ground. 

"  Your  wrist  .   .   .  your  wrist  .   .   .  oh !  " 

"  Yes,  it's  broken."  He  had  raised  himself  and 
was  holding  it  up,  looking  at  it  like  a  miserable 
dog  run  over  in  the  road. 

"  It  has  been  all  this  time  ?  "  Spring  could  hardly 
credit  it. 

He  wagged  his  hand  a  bit  more. 

"  Yes,  it's  nearly  dead  now.    Watch  it." 

"  Oh,  how  dreadful !    I'll  run  into  the  next  field 


SAMARITAN  MARY  135 

and  see  if  I  can  get  someone  to  come  and  help 
you." 

"  You'll  have  to  hurry  them,  because  I've  made 
up  my  mind  now  to  finish  this  business  myself." 

He  started  to  crawl  along  on  his  knees  and  one 
hand.  His  back  was  breaking  with  pain  and  the 
bad  wrist  seemed  to  have  numbed  his  whole  right 
arm.  Spring  darted  for  the  fence  and  ran  some 
distance  across  the  potato  patch  to  the  dividing 
fence  of  Hek  Dean's  land.  There  was  nobody 
about,  and  she  turned  a  second  to  look  back  to 
where  young  Pendren  was  struggling  to  get  himself 
up  the  step.  He  had  succeeded  in  raising  his  body 
to  the  level  of  the  porch  and  was  wriggling  along 
over  it  to  the  open  door. 

She  lingered  a  moment  before  climbing  through 
the  fence,  and  in  that  time  Pendren  had  wormed  his 
way  through  the  door.  She  knew  that  he  was  going 
right  through  the  passage  to  his  own  room.  She 
dashed  for  the  house  again,  and  reached  it  in  time 
to  see  him  go  through  the  front  parlor  door.  She 
heard  him  call  out  as  if  he  could  bear  the  pain  he 
was  in  no  longer. 

He  was  still  on  the  floor  with  his  head  against 
the  stretcher  bed  when  she  got  to  him,  but  most  of 
his  strength  had  gone  and  some  of  his  determina- 
tion. 

"  Spring  ...   for  God's  sake  stand  by  me.    I 


136  SAMARITAN  MARY 

beat  .  .  .  you,  Kid,  but  it's  ever  so  much  easier  if 
...  I  can  get  my  arm  round  you.  ..." 

As  he  slipped  to  the  ground  the  girl  ran  forward; 
then,  considering  a  moment,  she  slipped  the  pillow 
under  him  carefully.  He  worked  his  left  arm  up 
till  it  reached  under  the  pillow;  she  stood  there 
watching  him. 

"  That's  better,"  he  said  quietly,  slipping  into 
drowsy  unconsciousness.  "  What  a  ...  woman 
you  are  .  .  .  after  all !  " 


CHAPTER  XIII 

"  I  SHOULD  jest  about  say  it  was  time  you  opened 
up  some  information  and  let  your  folks  have  a  look 
at  things  for  themselves,"  said  Mary  Settler  when 
young  Pendren,  with  his  arm  in  a  sling  and  his  back 
well  bolstered,  sat  once  again  on  the  porch. 

"  How  can  I  ?  I  intended  to  write  my  father  the 
day  I  ...  I  broke  my  wrist.  Now  if  it  had  only 
been  the  left  one  instead  of  the  right  ..." 

"  Didn't  strike  you  that  Spring  had  a  right  and 
a  left  hand  both  goin'  idle  these  days  now  you're 
setting  up  so  much  and  taking  the  ordinary  run  of 
food?  My  opinion  is  that  that  girl  can  write  any- 
thing she  wants  to.  You  should  've  seen  the  letter 
she  wrote  her  ma.  Sheets  of  it,  and  as  easy  as 
anything  I  ever  set  eyes  on.  I  wasn't  so  bad  meself 
once,  but  I  was  doin'  a  regular  thing  in  corre- 
spondence them  days.  Kind  of  setting  down  to  it 
after  a  day's  work  and  making  pictures  in  me  mind 
all  the  way  along.  I  got  those  letters  somewhere 
about  now.  Must  hunt  'em  up  jes'  to  remind  me 
...  of  what  I  could  do  once." 

Pendren  was  more  interested  in  this  good,  kind 
motherly  soul  every  day,  and  sometimes  he  probed 

137 


138  SAMARITAN  MARY 

her  gently  in  order  to  learn  more  of  her  history  and 
ways  of  living. 

"Didn't  you  ever  send  them,  then?"  he  asked, 
watching  her  face. 

Mary  clattered  something  she  was  beating-up  in 
a  bowl. 

"  Sure  I  sent  them.  Whatever  would  be  the  use 
of  spoiling  good,  expensive,  scented  notepaper  all 
for  nothing?  Oh,  I  was  particular  in  those  days 
and  had  perfume  in  me  hair,  and  on  me  handker- 
chief, and  notepaper.  Mother  used  to  say  it  would 
get  me  into  the  courts;  for  even  if  I  was  wearin' 
me  shoes  through  three  places  at  once,  and  I  got 
down  town,  it  was  sure  to  be  scent  I  came  home 
with,  even  if  it  was  in  the  color  of  a  bit  of  chewing 
gum  that  satisfied  as  long  as  it  lasted.  Yes,  Mr. 
Pendren,  sir.  And  it  was  heliotrope  notepaper,  no 
less,  for  Mary  Settler,  with  a  carnation  bokay  in- 
cense about  it  that  scented  all  my  clothes  if  I  left 
the  letters  for  a  day  in  the  clothes-press.  Don't 
suppose  though  now  that  there's  much  of  a  flavor 
in  'em,  seeing  they've  laid  by  many  a  long  year, 
and  I've  not  bothered  about  'em." 

"  But  I  thought  you  said  you'd  sent  them  some- 
where." 

Mary  beat  harder  at  the  substance  in  the  bowl. 

"  That  didn't  stop  'em  comin'  back  when  the  deal 
was  finished.  Perhaps  if  I  hadn't  made  the  mistake 


SAMARITAN  MARY  139 

of  bein'  so  particular-like  about  the  color  and  the 
scent,  and  had  wrote  them  on  an  ordinary  piece  of 
paper  made  rightly  for  folks  with  ordinary  ideas,  I 
might  have  done  something  with  'em.  Oh,  I  sup- 
pose I'm  mighty  proud  of  them,  all  the  same.  I 
wouldn't  have  been  without  them,  or  the  extra  fine 
special  feelings  I  got  when  everybody  else  had  gone 
to  bed  and  I  was  left  inventin'  a  future.  Does  one 
good  to  build  a  stack  like  that  sometimes,  even  if 
it  do  tumble  down,  and  knock  the  lid  off  and  let 
all  the  good  out  of  it  afterwards.  You  see  I  didn't 
know  it  would  tumble  down  when  I  was  stackin'  it. 
Like  Benjamin  o'  the  yard  the  other  day!  Kep' 
piling  away  at  the  wood-heap  in  the  shed — stackin' 
and  stackin'  and  stackin'  all  in  one  tremendous  heap, 
more  like  a  fire  escape  than  anything.  Presently  he 
puts  the  last  straw  on  it  and  kinder  breaks  the  back 
of  the  woodpile,  and  while  he's  dreamin'  about  it 
down  comes  the  whole  thing,  and  him,  looking  as 
if  he'd  been  under  a  month's  yard  cleanin's.  One 
thing  these  sky-scrapin'  ideas  teaches  you.  It  ain't 
no  good  building  a  second  time.  I  never  tried." 

She  passed  inside  the  house  just  as  Spring  came 
out  with  her  hair  well  tied  back  and  two  small  shell- 
colored  ears  showing  just  under  the  waves  rippling 
from  her  forehead.  She  had  on  a  fresh  muslin 
dress  of  palest  pink,  which  deepened  her  color  and 
gave  her  hair  a  warmer  tone  of  bronze. 


140  SAMARITAN  MARY 

Pendren,  thinking  of  what  Mary  Settler  had  just 
been  telling  him  and  dreaming  at  the  same  time  of 
the  exquisite  expression  on  the  girl's  face,  watched 
her  till  she  reached  the  door. 

"  Don't  come  any  further,"  he  said. 

"  I'm  not,"  said  Spring.  "  I'm  going  to  sit  on 
the  step,  just  here,  in  case  you  might  be  needing 
anything." 

"  I  need  something  now.  Will  you  write  some 
letters  for  me  if  I  dictate  them  very  slowly?  " 

"  Why,  yes;  I'll  get  my  block.    Wait  a  minute." 

"  You'll  find  some  paper  with  a  heading  to  it  in 
my  bag,"  he  called  after  her.  "  There's  a  fountain 
pen  somewhere  also." 

Mary  stopped  the  girl  as  she  ran  through  the 
house. 

"  What  are  you  going  to  do,  Spring?  " 

"  Going  to  write  some  letters."  There  was  a  fine 
color  in  the  girl's  face  and  her  eyes  were  brilliant. 
"  I  want  to  get  the  special  paper  Mr.  Pendren  keeps 
for  business,  I  expect,  and  his  fountain  pen." 

"  Well,  if  that  isn't  jes'  too  smart  for  anything," 
said  Mary,  as  the  girl  dashed  away.  "  She's  clean 
tucked  up  against  his  family  affairs  now.  Good 
thing  I  reminded  him  she  had  a  pair  of  hands  going 
to  waste  these  days.  If  he  can  find  employment  for 
them  at  this  stage  of  things,  maybe  he's  likely  to 
find  something  better  for  her  to  do  later  on.  I'll 


SAMARITAN  MARY  141 

have  to  watch  the  Graham  P.  business  all  through, 
though.    It's  bound  to  come  out  soon  now." 

During  the  rest  of  the  morning  Mary  settled  her- 
self near  the  porch  and  on  several  occasions  found 
some  reasons  to  go  out  and  take  observations.  She 
thought  that  this  might  be  the  critical  moment  and 
the  young  man  might  disclose  just  how  far  Gra- 
ham P.  Roper  was  inculpated  in  the  matter  he  had 
referred  to  some  time  ago.  It  was  a  daily  puzzle 
to  her  that  Spring's  father  had  been  killed  in  the 
Pynes  Steel  Works  and  yet  was  being  hunted  down 
presumably  in  regard  to  this  cash  robbery.  Pendren 
had  told  her  so  little,  yet  it  weighed  so  much 
on  her  mind  that  its  weight  was  warping  her  while 
she  kept  the  two  in  her  house  with  no  disclosure  to 
either.  Things  had  gone  just  as  she  wanted,  and 
there  was  a  fine  thread  of  friendship  woven  into  the 
daily  attention  with  which  Spring  supplied  the 
young  man,  and  which  he  subconsciously  returned. 
This  dictating  of  his  letters  seemed  to  Mary  a 
critical  undertaking,  and  she  waited  near  with  an 
anxious  ear  and  her  wits  ready  in  the  case  of  an 
allusion  to  Graham  P.  Roper,  should  it  arise.  Pen- 
dren started  right  away. 

"  My  dear  Father : 

(  Mary  heard  that  with  much  foreboding. )  "  I'm 
somewhere  down  on  the  track  of  the  man." 


142  SAMARITAN  MARY 

Pendren  paused,  and  the  innocent  eyes  of  Spring 
Roper  met  his  across  the  sun  shaft  in  the  porch. 
Mary  listened  unashamedly.  Then  to  cover  her 
silence  a  little  she  started  a  low,  crooning  song,  half 
lullaby  and  half  ragtime. 

"  I've  got  .  .  .  '  the  man  .  .  . '  "  said  Spring, 
looking  up  for  her  next  orders. 

"  I  wish  you  had,"  said  Pendren  lightly,  his  eyes 
resting  on  her  sweet,  earnest  face. 

"  I  mean  that  I  have  got  '  the  man '  down." 
Spring  was  a  weeny  bit  confused. 

"  Have  you  ?  We  have  been  trying  to  do  that 
for  ages.  The  beggar  won't  give  us  the  chance. 
He's  too  slippery." 

He  smiled  as  if  to  tease  her,  but  Spring's  face  was 
deepening  to  scarlet  confusion.  Once  or  twice  the 
corner  of  her  mouth  drooped  a  little  lower,  and  the 
expression  she  wore  made  him  continue  his  fooling. 

"  Shall  .  .  .  shall  I  write  all  that  about  him  being 
too  slippery  ?  "  she  asked  simply. 

"  Oh,  no  ...  no  ...  no,  I'm  sorry.  You  see 
I'm  just  beginning  to  pick  up  my  strength,  and  any 
little  fool-game  rather  hits  me  in  a  safe  spot.  As 
soon  as  I  can  find  a  bit  of  stiffening  in  my  back, 
and  when  I  can  locate  my  boots  ...  I  shall  take 
a  look  at  the  car  and  see  about  getting  on  with  this 
business." 

He  leaned  a  bit  forward. 


SAMARITAN  MARY  143 

"  Do  you  know,  Miss  Glory,  that  although  I  seem 
such  an  ungrateful  beggar  and  take  such  a  deuce 
of  a  time  to  get  right,  I'm  really  enjoying  being  ill 
quite  a  heap." 

The  girl  said  nothing.  She  glanced  at  him  a  little 
doubtfully.  She  never  knew  how  far  to  believe  him. 
Besides,  she  was  just  considering  what  he  had  said 
about  getting  on. 

"  Don't  open  your  eyes  so  wide,"  said  Pendren. 
"  You  make  me  feel  as  if  I'll  fall  right  into  the 
pools  of  light  you  carry  around  in  them.  What  a 
baby  you  are !  " 

Spring  took  courage  again. 

"  You  said  I  was  '  a  woman  after  all '  only  the 
other  day;  now  you  call  me  a  baby  again.  You 
never  stick  to  things." 

"  Nonsense.  I'm  a  fair  nailer  at  sticking  to 
things.  I  never  give  in.  When  did  I  accuse  you 
of  being  a  woman  ?  " 

Spring  looked  down.  She  had  thought  a  good 
deal  of  the  incident  in  which  he  had  asked  her  to 
stand  by  him,  and  had  said  that  it  would  be  ever 
so  much  easier  for  him  to  bear  the  pain  if  he  could 
get  his  arm  around  her.  Of  course  she  knew  that 
he  had  only  said  it  when  he  was  feeling  hopelessly 
ill  and  lonely  and  frightfully  faint,  but  then  he  had 
curled  up  against  the  pillow  almost  as  if  it  was  a 
special  kind  of  motherly  protection,  and  she  knew 


144  SAMARITAN  MARY 

that  the  words  "  That's  better  .  .  .  what  a  woman 
you  are  after  all "  were  not  applied  to  the  pillow 
at  all. 

"  Well,"  he  said,  smiling  across  and  waiting. 
"  When  did  I  ever  say  such  a  thing.  Was  I  dream- 
ing or  .  .  .  guessing?" 

"  I  .  .  .  think  you  were  dreaming,"  she  said,  try- 
ing to  be  truthful. 

"  And  tell  me,  was  it  one  of  the  things  that 
couldn't  possibly  happen  ?  " 

Suddenly  she  caught  his  eyes  and  smiled  till  hers 
nearly  closed  altogether. 

"  Not  if  it  was  my  dream,"  she  said. 

"  And  do  you  dream  you  are  a  woman  ?  " 

He  was  getting  all  round  the  point  just  to  try 
and  confuse  her. 

"  Sometimes,"  she  said,  still  looking  away  from 
him. 

"  Then  I  must  apologize  for  calling  you  a  baby 
again.  I  begin  to  think  you  are  more  woman  than 
.  .  .  than  anyone  else  in  the  world." 

He  stopped  and  shut  his  eyes  a  moment,  as  if 
thinking  something  out  that  had  just  occurred  to 
him. 

"  We  haven't  got  very  far  with  our  letters  yet, 
have  we?  There  are  several  I  ought  to  get  off  my 
mind." 

Spring  straightened  her  back. 


SAMARITAN  MARY  145 

"  '  I've  got  ...  on  the  track  of  the  man.'  Please 
go  right  on.  We  get  so  confused  if  you  keep  stop- 
ping." 

"  Then,  please,  will  you  turn  your  back  ?  I  can't 
collect  my  thoughts  if  you  keep  opening  your  eyes 
at  me.  I  feel  as  if  you  were  going  to  swallow 
me." 

The  wind  rustling  through  from  the  front  to  the 
back  of  the  house  was  playing  with  the  loose  ten- 
drils of  Spring's  hair  in  a  sort  of  pitch  and  toss  that 
sent  Pendren  scorching  to  his  finger-tips  to  get  up 
and  touch  them.  The  gap  between  her  blouse  and 
ears  was  delicately  soft,  sweet,  and  rounded,  and 
he  drew  in  his  lips  as  a  hungry  man  might  in  sight 
of  food. 

"  We'd  better  start  again,"  he  said,  trying  to  look 
anywhere  but  at  Spring. 

A  sudden  resolution  to  give  up  "  playing  the  giddy 
ox,"  as  he  called  this  delightful  trifling  to  himself, 
made  him  set  his  mind  again  on  the  letter  to  his 
father. 

Mary  Settler,  in  the  kitchen,  had  understood 
without  seeing  just  about  twice  as  much  as  these 
two.  Inwardly  she  was  doing  a  kind  of  hornpipe  at 
the  result  of  her  schemes. 

"  If  he'd  only  get  on  with  the  track  of  that  man, 
and  hop  across  it,  and  cache  his  trouble  somewhere 
clean  the  other  side,  I'd  be  seeing  Spring  in  orange 


i46  SAMARITAN  MARY 

flowers  and   my  mother's  wedding  veil,  under  a 
month.    Praise  be,  he's  startin'  again !  " 

Pendren  began  to  dictate  his  letter  with  more 
seriousness. 

"  My  dear  Father : 

"  I'm  somewhere  down  on  the  track  of  the  man 
.  .  .  but  I  find  that  .  .  .  that  the  beggar  died  some 
time  ago." 

A  flicker  in  Spring's  eyes,  an  opening  of  her  lips 
seemed  to  indicate  that  she  was  going  to  say  some- 
thing; but  she  changed  her  mind  as  quickly  as  the 
flicker  of  thought  had  spun  across  her  eyes,  and  was 
silent. 

"  It  appears  that  there  are  a  bunch  of  women  to 
deal  with,  and  that  their  only  recommendations  are 
that  they  are  a  hard-working  lot,  able  to  fight  their 
own  battles  in  their  own  way,"  Quilter  Lancelot 
continued.  "  I  don't  think  we  need  start  pulling  on 
warmer  socks  on  that  score.  We  can  touch  them 
in  a  sort  of  compromise  at  any  time  later.  Mean- 
time I  am  keeping  a  lookout  for  anything  that  might 
be  credited  to  Blessing  and  ..." 

Spring  swung  her  first  look  of  real  consternation 
on  him. 

"  You  mean  a  blessing,  don't  you  ?  " 

"  No;  Blessing  is  the  name  of  a  man.     Though 


SAMARITAN  MARY  147 

what  in  thunder  he  wanted  to  be  called  that  for  beats 
me." 

Mary  had  wandered  out  to  the  porch  with  a  cup 
of  milk  for  Spring  and  some  equivalent  for  the 
young  man. 

"  You'll  jes'  stop  a  minute,  Mr.  Pendren,  sir,  if 
you  don't  mind,  and  take  a  sip  or  two's  refresh- 
ment," she  said.  "  I'm  not  so  keen  on  any  express, 
non-stopping  kind  of  business  for  a  man  who's 
nearly  been  wrecked  in  his  last  speedy  journey." 

Pendren  said,  "  Thank  you,"  and  took  the  cup; 
then  he  went  on  explaining  to  Spring  as  Mary  stood 
there. 

"  All  I  can  say  is,  Miss  Glory,  that  if  I  had  a 
name  like  that  I'd  take  jolly  good  care  not  to  live 
beneath  it.  Instead  of  a  blessing  he's  more  like  a 
curse  to  our  family." 

Mary  took  the  cup  from  him. 

"  If  I  might  put  me  foot  in  for  one  moment,  sir, 
I  might  jes'  suspicion  he  was  a  blessin'  to  somebody 
and  you  not  know  it.  It's  like  havin'  a  cold,  mortal 
bad,  and  having  to  stop  in  bed  with  a  tremendous 
pain  somewhere  when  you  wouldn't  otherwise  dare 
refuse  to  go  and  take  tea  with,  well,  say,  Deacon 
Heddy  or  Miss  Liz  Hetty.  That's  my  way  of 
lookin'  at  it,  sir." 

Pendren  was  too  much  taken  up  with  his  topic 
now  to  stop  or  heed  Mary's  amiable  garrulity.  He 


i48  SAMARITAN  MARY 

went  for  his  subject  as  though  he  were  smashing 
an  egg. 

"  Confound  him !  He's  been  up  against  our  fam- 
ily for  generations ! " 

"  Then  he  must  be  wearin'  out  with  things,  seein' 
he's  been  raging  that  long."  Mary  still  lingered 
with  the  empty  cup. 

"  Wearing  out  ?  He'll  have  a  hole  through  Dad's 
heart  worse  than  if  he'd  been  chased  by  a  cannon 
ball.  If  I  could  get  my  hands  on  Blessing  I'd  scruff 
him  first  and  pickle  him  after." 

Spring  had  never  seen  this  man  in  his  fighting 
mood,  and  although  she  admired  the  strength  behind 
his  voice,  and  the  way  he  spoke  of  his  father,  she 
trembled  inwardly. 

"  He's  been  sizing  up  your  dad  then,  same  as  if 
he  was  carving  something  he's  a  grudge  against,  is 
that  it?" 

"  He's  been  raising  .  .  .  hell  ...  I  mean  he's 
been  chucking  bricks  since  my  grandfather's  time, 
though  it  was  the  old  chap  that  started  the  trouble. 
You  see  it's  this  way " 

He  sat  forward  again,  and  took  relief  in  opening 
out  on  the  whole  subject. 

"  Old  Blessing  was  in  my  grandfather's  employ 
before  the  works  came  down  to  us,  that  is,  to  Daw- 
son,  G.  Pendren,  and  Son.  I'm  the  last  portion  of 
that.  You  take  me  ?  Well,  there  was  some  trouble 


SAMARITAN  MARY  149 

in  grandfather's  time  about  somebody  looting  the 
cash  box  or  playing  the  business  false,  and  this  old 
Blessing  raised  a  war  among  the  men.  There 
weren't  such  things  as  strikes  in  those  days,  but  he 
managed  to  churn  up  enough  dirty  water  to  make  it 
uncomfortable  for  my  grandfather.  The  result  was 
that  Blessing  was  clapped  in  prison  as  an  inciter  of 
riots  or  some  such  ructions,  and  though  it  was  years 
ago,  we've  been  fighting  the  second  Blessing,  his  son, 
ever  since." 

"  You  mean  he  was  annoyed  like,  and  tryin'  to 
get  somethin'  back  on  account  of  ...  of  his  father 
bein'  put  in  prison?  "  said  Mary. 

"  You've  got  me,"  answered  Pendren.  "  To  con- 
tinue ..." 

"  There's  more  of  it,  then?  It's  a  whole  chapter 
or  so  in  the  family  volume,  I  should  say." 

"  Yes,  and  it's  likely  to  be  a  complete  novel  before 
we've  finished.  You  see,  the  son  happens  to  be  some 
sort  of  a  ninth-rate,  out-at-elbow,  cur-jawed,  long- 
eared  kind  of  a  lawyer-chap,  and  he's  been  nosing 
round  for  years  trying  to  drop  on  something  likely 
to  upset  our  firm,  and  give  him  a  banquet.  That's 
where  the  trouble  comes  in.  You're  getting  it,  aren't 
you?" 

Mary  had  been  listening  as  intently  as  she  knew 
how. 

"  Land,"  she  said,  "  we're  getting  it,  as  you  say ! 


1 50  SAMARITAN  MARY 

We'll  all  be  up  to  our  necks  in  it  presently.  I  can 
see  that." 

Young  Pendren  was  too  wrapped  in  his  story  to 
notice  the  sharp  edge  of  her  words. 

"  Well,  this  chap,  Blessing,  after  digging  about, 
brings  up  some  cock-and-bull  yarn  about  there  being 
a  side  line  in  our  family  who  can  lay  claim  to  half, 
or  more,  of  the  estate.  He  reckons  he's  on  the  track 
of  the  man  now,  who,  if  he  cares  to  let  him  take  up 
the  case,  can  claim  the  biggest  part  of  our  business. 
Blessing  swears  that  unless  we  make  it  good  to  him 
to  a  tune  of  some  thousands,  he'll  see  us  through 
the  courts  and  fight  the  other  chap's  chance  for 
nothing." 

Quilter  Lancelot  stopped  to  swallow  down  some 
of  the  spirit  this  talk  was  raising  in  him.  Mary 
stood  there  before  him  more  amazed  than  she  cared 
to  feel. 

"  Of  course  Dad  says  he'll  see  him  frizzle  first, 
but  he  got  me  to  take  a  run  down  just  to  sort  of 
nose  a  bit  for  ourselves,  find  out  if  this  family 
really  exists,  or  if  it  is  all  a  put-up  game  of  Bless- 
ing's. If  the  family  really  exists  we've  got  to  fight 
it,  but  by  .  . 

Almost  beyond  himself  with  rage,  the  young  man 
stopped  as  he  caught  a  frightened  glance  from 
Spring. 

"  By  your  bright  eyes,  Miss  Glory,"  he  finished, 


SAMARITAN  MARY  151 

pulling  himself  up  and  laughing  shortly,  "  we'll  take 
them  through  every  court  in  the  United  States  of 
America,  before  we  let  them  have  what's  been  ours 
for  generations." 

Mary  was  leaning  forward  as  if  she  thought  she 
might  be  required  any  moment  to  revive  the  young 
man  if  he  fell  back  exhausted  with  his  excitement. 

"  I  don't  exactly  calc'late  to  understand  any  too 
much  of  that,  Mr.  Pendren,  sir,"  she  said,  "  but  I 
guess  there's  not  so  much  to  get  cold  feet  on,  after 
all.  I  was  kinder  holding  a  grudge  against  somebody 
who  had  maybe  filled  his  side  pockets  from  your 
father's  till,  right  along.  Is  it  that  they  want  to 
make  you  part  up  with  some  of  the  shares  of  the 
business  ?  Well,  that  isn't  so  bad,  after  all !  " 

"  Bad  ?  "  Pendren  looked  at  her  as  if  he  would 
have  liked  to  get  up  and  shake  her.  "  Bad  ? 
It's  .  .  .  rotten.  Would  you  divide  up  your  potato 
crops,  and  your  turnip  patch,  and  your  house  and 
all,  and  give  over  perhaps  the  biggest  share  after 
you'd  slaved  in  it  for  years,  to  somebody  who  just 
hopped  up — on  the  word  of  a  blackguardly  no- 
body who  wanted  to  get  even  with  you?  Would 
you?" 

Mary  took  this  gently.  She  showed  some  slight 
hesitation  all  the  same. 

"  Well,  I  guess  I'd  rather  have  it  that  I'd  been 
even  with  them  first  of  all,  Mr.  Pendren,  sir.  If 


152  SAMARITAN  MARY 

you're  not  on  a  level  with  folks  to  start  off  with, 
how  can  you  expect  them  to  balance  you,  after- 
wards? Certain  I'm  as  fond  of  my  bit  of  a  place, 
bad  seasons  or  fair,  but  if  anybody  hops  up  now 
and  gives  me  good  reason  why  it's  theirs,  and  not 
mine  at  all,  then  ..." 

"  You'd  give  it  up  without  a  fight.  You'd  be 
a  fool  if  you  did." 

"  Maybe  I'd  be  a  bigger  fool  if  I  didn't,  and  they 
took  the  case  to  court  and  I  had  to  walk  out  prompt, 
looking  altogether  a  mighty  small  worm  after  I'd 
been  trod  on — and  serve  me  right." 

"  Well,  we  are  not  going  to  be  trodden  on,  I  can 
tell  you.  If  there  was  a  cent's  worth  of  truth  in 
the  story,  I  wouldn't  mind  offering  these  people  a 
small  sum  to  compensate  them  for  any  loss;  but 
they'd  have  to  prove  their  claim;  and  we've  got 
enough  money  to  run  the  thing  dry  before  they 
could  do  that.  It  isn't  likely  they  have  enough  even 
to  start  a  fight."  He  laughed. 

Spring  ventured  to  speak  for  the  first  time. 

"How  horrible!"  she  said.  "If  money  is  the 
strength  of  it,  you  ought  to  be  fair  and  give  them 
what  is  theirs  without  a  fight." 

Young  Pendren  glared  at  her.  She  saw  the  force 
behind  his  mood. 

"  If  it  comes  to  that,  nobody  on  this  earth  has 
a  right  to  a  thing,"  he  said.  "  You  might  as  well 


SAMARITAN  MARY  153 

ask  the  President  to  give  up  his  rank  or  the  great 
railroad  makers  to  resign  their  claims  because  of 
some  rotten  socialistic  worm.  The  business  is  ours." 
He  laughed  to  ease  the  situation. 

"  I'm  a  beggar  to  talk,  once  I  get  going,  but  you 
can't  see  it  my  way.  If  these  people  would  take  a 
small  sum,  which  they  might  deserve,  I  wouldn't 
be  so  violent  about  it,  but  with  Blessing  to  fight  for 
what  he  can  get  out  of  it,  our  case  might  be  up  the 
spout.  Great  sharks,  I  must  get  up.  .  .  .  Miss  Set- 
tler .  .  .  I'm  red  hot  and  all  oiled  to  start  sparking. 
You  remember  I  asked  you  the  other  day  if  there 
were  people  about  here  called  ..." 

With  wonderful  accuracy  Mary  dropped  the  cup 
and  saucer  on  to  the  floor  and  raised  a  shout  as 
if  she  had  been  shot. 

"  Sakes  alive ! "  she  yelled,  dashing  for  the 
kitchen,  "  I  left  a  syrup  tart  all  this  time  in  the  oven, 
and  .  .  ." 

For  the  moment  the  two  remained  listening. 

They  heard  Mary  open  the  stove  door  and  utter 
another  cry. 

"  Bring  me  the  yard  spade,  Spring,  like  a  good 
girl,  and  we'll  jus'  hop  this  tart  into  the  sink." 

Spring  was  beside  her  in  a  minute.  The  syrup 
tart  was  certainly  bubbling  and  sparkling  in  the 
oven;  but  it  was  crisp  and  golden  and  wonderfully 
flaked. 


i54  SAMARITAN  MARY 

"  Why  .  .  .  Mary  .  .  .  ?  "  she  began,  when  the 
woman  hushed  her  up. 

"  Why  ?  Because  that  young  man  will  be  havin' 
a  fit  of  something  we  can't  cure  if  he  goes  on  talkin' 
any  more,"  Mary  said. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

MARY  managed  to  keep  Spring  employed  inside 
the  house  till  quite  late  that  evening.  When  the 
girl  took  the  tray  of  supper  into  the  parlor  where 
Pendren  had  been  assisted  an  hour  before,  he  was 
inclined  to  be  moody,  and  scarcely  looked  at  her. 
More  than  his  recital  of  the  story  disturbed  him 
that  night  when  he  went  to  bed.  He  lay  tossing 
until  the  morning. 

Early  next  day  he  pulled  his  clothes  on  with  his 
one  hand  and  by  pushing  a  small  chair  before  him 
gained  a  place  on  the  porch,  where  he  sat  in  almost 
childish  temper. 

Spring  found  him  there  when  she  took  a  broom 
to  sweep  the  porch.  Immediately  he  started  talking. 

"  Miss  Glory  "...  the  tone  was  one  of  a  griev- 
ance, "  I  wish  you  wouldn't  use  that  broom  near 
me!" 

"  I  didn't  mean  to  raise  the  dust  over  you,"  said 
Spring,  her  cheeks  aflame. 

"  I  didn't  mean  that.  I  hate  to  see  you  sweep- 
ing." 

"  But  it  is  part  of  my  work.  I  couldn't  live  here 
without  doing  something.  Could  you  ?  " 

155 


156  SAMARITAN  MARY 

She  saw  her  mistake  as  soon  as  she  had  spoken. 
Trying  to  evade  it  was  of  no  use.  The  young  man 
was  flashing  immediately. 

"  I've  had  to  live  here  without  doing  anything 
for  ever  so  long,"  he  snapped.  "  But  I  intend  to 
make  some  settlement  to  Mary,  you  may  be  sure. 
It's  her  beastly  goodness  that  is  choking  me,  and 
yours,  too..  What  do  you  want  to  make  me  feel 
like  this  for?" 

"  Like  what  ?  "  There  was  a  charming  simplicity 
in  the  way  she  said  it. 

"  Like  .  .  .  this !  One  minute  I  want  to  slap 
you.  Yes,  slap  you  for  being  so  ...  so  ...  you. 
And  the  next  I  don't  want  to  do  anything  of  the 
sort.  I'd  like  somebody  to  break  my  head  if  I  did 
it.  How  do  you  think  I'm  going  to  repay  you  for 
all  you've  done?  Do  you  see  my  position?  Do 
you?" 

Spring  looked  at  him  hopelessly. 

"  I  never  understand  half  you  say,"  she  began. 

"  Thank  goodness,"  said  Pendren.  "  One  thing 
I  want  to  ask  you.  Will  you  please  consent  to  my 
suggesting  something  that  might  help  you  ?  " 

"  I  don't  want  help,"  said  Spring. 

"  I'm  glad  of  that.  It  .  .  .  it  cheers  me  a  whole 
lot,  but  there's  your  immediate  future  to  think  of. 
You've  got  an  angel  mother  with  a  whole  batch  of 
children,  to  say  nothing  of  the  mortgage  on  your 


SAMARITAN  MARY  157 

mind,  and  .  .  .  and  I  feel  a  positive  brute  to  sit 
here  taking  your  time  and  attention,  and  I  can  af- 
ford to  ...  to,  well — pay  for  it.  ... 

"  Oh,  please  don't  think  I'm  trying  to  be  inde- 
pendent and  all  that  tommyrot.  I  just  .  .  .  love  it. 
I  mean,  the  little  things  you  do.  I  ...  was  only 
thinking  last  night  that  I'd  be  a  heap  worse  off 
when  I  was  better,  than  if  I  remained  with  only 
half  a  back-bone  and  one  serviceable  arm  for  life." 

Out  of  the  midst  of  his  peculiar  mood  he  smiled 
at  her.  Spring  was  biting  the  top  of  the  broom 
as  it  rested  on  the  step.  The  morning  sun  was  on 
her  hair  and  in  her  heart. 

"  You  don't  mean  that  ?  "  Her  eyes  held  him 
so  that  he  could  only  answer  foolishly. 

"  I  do  .   .   .  honest  Injun !  " 

"  You  must  be  fearfully  .  .  .  happy  here,"  she 
said,  looking  him  right  through  to  see  if  he  wasn't 
really  playing  again. 

"  I  am  .  .  .  I'm  just  beginning  to  recognize  what 
a  fool  I've  been." 

"  And  how  much  you  appreciate  everything  and 
how  much  you  admire  Mary  and  all  she  does.  I 
don't  think  she'd  like  you  to  speak  of  payment. 
She's  funny  like  that.  She  never  wants  money,  she 
says.  She  never  seems  to  use  any." 

"  Certainly  not  on  herself.  But  I'm  sure  she'd 
like  to  use  some  on  you." 


1 58  SAMARITAN  MARY 

"  She  has.  She  gave  me  my  colored  muslin,  and 
the  new  shoes,  and  ever  so  many  things  I  wear  at 
other  times." 

"  Oh,  then  she  is  keeping  you.  That's  what  I 
want  to  get  at.  You  see,  if  she's  keeping  you  there 
can  be  no  harm  in  my  offering  her  some  money 
to  ...  well,  to  buy  you  a  few  pretty  things. 
Great  stars,  Spring,  I'd  just  like  to  run  you  up  to 
New  York,  and  watch  your  face,  and  let  you  order 
from  the  big  plate-glass  cases  as  you  liked.  It 
would  be  gorgeous.  I  can  see  just  what  you'd  look 
like  in  a  .  .  ." 

He  stopped  a  moment  to  take  in  her  whole 
person. 

"  I'd  put  you  into  the  palest  shades  I  could  find, 
the  softest  materials,  silks  and  lawns,  not  heavy 
satins.  You'd  be  the  daintiest  fairy  in  crepe  de 
chine.  I  know  all  about  crepe  de  chine  because 
my  sister  is  great  on  it.  And  big  hats!  Lovely 
flopping  things  with  berries  or  buds  on  them.  Must 
be  flopping  because  everybody  would  be  staring  at 
you  so  hard  you'd  be  crazy  with  fright."  He  was 
looking  quite  different  now  under  this  new  spell. 

"  I'd  take  you  in  taxis  so  that  nobody  could  make 
you  afraid,  and  I'd  have  the  biggest  stores  turn  out 
their  goods  till  there  was  a  pile  that  would  take 
you  a  year  to  go  through  without  wearing  the  same 
thing  twice.  I'd  have  somebody  special  to  brush 


SAMARITAN  MARY  159 

out  that  lovely  crinkly  hair  of  yours  and  turn  the 
sun  spray  on  it  every  morning  for  me  to  look  at.  I 
think  I  could  lie  all  day  looking  at  your  hair, 
Spring.  ..." 

"  Would  you  be  turnin'  on  the  refreshments  be- 
tween times  jes'  to  give  it  the  look  of  the  life  of 
an  ordinary  common  human  being,  Mr.  Pendren, 
sir?" 

Mary  Settler  came  into  the  entertainment  as  the 
young  man  stopped  speaking.  He  saw  that  his  only 
way  of  escape  from  a  compromising  situation  would 
be  to  take  her  question  as  she  had  put  it. 

"  My  word,  Mary,"  he  said  briskly,  "  you'd  be 
in  it  as  well.  You'd  be  just  the  person  to  do  the 
brushing.  We  could  have  ..." 

"  Are  you  thinkin'  of  turning  Spring  into  a  penny- 
in-the-slot-walk-right-in-and-see-the-fat-lady-kind-of- 
affair.  I'm  not  set  on  her  going  to  the  city,  'cept 
she  go  in  her  proper  line." 

Pendren  had  gone  too  far  in  admitting  his  con- 
cern for  Spring  to  try  and  get  out  of  acknowledg- 
ing its  consequences  in  a  hurry.  Moreover,  he  was 
so  worked  up  that  he  did  not  want  to  wade  out. 

"  There  is  only  one  role  she  could  fill,"  he  said 
quietly. 

"  Please  tell  me;  I'm  just  crazy  to  know,"  came 
from  Spring. 

"  So  I  will,  Miss  Impatience,"  he  replied,  set- 


160  SAMARITAN  MARY 

tling  back  in  his  chair  and  half  shutting  his  eyes 
on  the  girl.  "  There's  one  thing,  though.  You 
don't  come  into  this  till  you're  allowed.  I'll  have 
a  talk  to  Mary  presently,  if  she  has  time." 

Mary  dodged  past  him  and  took  up  the  broom. 

"  Sakes  alive,  we'll  never  get  the  porch  swept  at 
this  rate.  You  go  right  along  and  fetch  Mr.  Pen- 
dren  his  coffee  and  toast-rolls,  Spring.  Set  a  cloth 
on  the  tray,  a  good  clean  one  out  of  the  press." 

Spring  retreated  with  tingling  nerves  and  a 
throbbing,  glad  heart.  If  the  unexpected  was  about 
to  happen  then  it  must  be  of  the  nature  of  one  of 
her  dreams.  In  her  mind  the  things  he  had  been 
saying  spun  round  with  marvelous  velocity.  Surely 
it  meant  a  lot  of  money.  More  than  she  had  ever 
known,  or  dreamed  of,  and  it  would  of  course 
benefit  her  mother  because  she  would  never  consent 
to  live  dressed  so  fine  unless  her  family  was  being 
dressed  likewise. 

In  what  capacity  she  was  to  go  to  New  York 
and  live  so  well  she  could  not  think.  It  was  true 
he  meant  to  pay  because  he  had  mentioned  it  first 
of  all.  The  whole  thing  was  too  new  and  too  much 
of  a  far-away  vision  to  dwell  on.  She  attended  to 
his  breakfast,  and  somehow,  though  she  had  turned 
the  subject  out  of  her  head,  it  gave  her  a  light- 
heartedness,  fresher  than  the  morning. 

Mary  gave  the  porch  the  touch  of  a  really  heavy 


SAMARITAN  MARY  161 

hand  as  she  treated  young  Pendren  to  a  bit  of  the 
same  thing  in  another  way. 

"  You  got  Spring  all  anxious  and  thinkin'  herself 
real  gold  plate  all  through,"  she  said,  and  worked 
the  broom  quickly.  "  I'm  wonderin'  what  kind  of 
a  situation  you've  got  in  your  head  that  will  dress 
her  out  like  a  store  window  at  Christmas  time. 
I'm  half  sorry,  Mr.  Pendren,  sir,  to  hear  you  givin' 
way  to  such  a  manner  of  expressions.  Spring  don't 
belong  to  your  set,  nor  your  sister's  set,  nor  to  any 
place  you're  used  to.  I'll  find  myself  asking  you 
in  a  minute  to  treat  her  same  as  you  would  any- 
body else  you  had  a  respeck  for." 

"  I  can  only  treat  her  as  she  ought  to  be  treated," 
said  Pendren,  and  steadied  down  a  bit  to  consider. 
"  She's  a  lady  born  and  bred,  anybody  can  see  that, 
and  she's  come  of  good  old  stock,  blue  blood  and 
brains.  That's  a  certainty.  ..." 

"  And  you  were  thinkin'  of  putting  her,  Mr.  Pen- 
dren, sir,  right  in  the  full  light  of  blue  blood  and 
brains  in  a  dress  likely  to  daze  her  terrible,  and 
make  her  talk  like  something  out  of  a  book  which 
would  scare  the  tongue  of  her  in  twenty-four  hours. 
You  were  thinkin'  of  garnishing  her  out  same  as 
a  table  at  Thanksgiving  time,  and  for  why,  and  for 
what  reason,  everybody  would  have  to  guess."  She 
moved  over  to  him  and  leaned  on  the  top  of  the 
broom. 


1 62  SAMARITAN  MARY 

"  Mr.  Pendren,  sir,  if  I  might  come  into  it  a  bit 
nearer,  as  I'm  kind  of  takin'  her  mother's  place  .  .  . 
would  you  be  treating  Spring  honest,  traveling  her 
as  a  decked-out  peacock  in  clothes  she  hasn't  the 
money  to  pay  for,  nor  is  likely  to  have  this  side  of 
a  fortunate  surprise?  Just  exactly,  sir,  what  she'd 
be  going  as?  " 

When  he  had  let  himself  go  in  his  admiration  of 
Spring,  Pendren  had  not  reckoned  on  having  to 
explain  it.  He  knew  he  had  been  foolish  to  drift 
into  a  situation  which  necessitated  Mary's  asking 
questions  before  he  was  ready  to  answer  them — 
before  he  was  sure  even  of  the  breadth,  depth, 
quality,  or  quantity  of  that  admiration. 

"  I'm  anxious  she  shall  have  her  place  with  other 
girls,  not  half  as  brainy  or  pretty.  I  intended  writ- 
ing to  my  sister  ..." 

"  Beggin'  your  pardon,  sir,  again,  but  bringin' 
your  sister  into  it  before  she  knows  anything  about 
Spring  don't  give  anybody  a  fair  show." 

"  But  she  can  help  me." 

"  She  mightn't  take  to  the  child  same  as  the  rest 
of  us.  Spring's  got  a  way  of  turning  a  red-hot 
feelin'  into  your  blood,  but  same  time  she  jes'  might 
run  it  in  cold  if  there's  woman's  jealousy  about. 
What  did  you  exactly  mean  by  helping  you,  sir  ?  " 

Mary's  anxiety  to  get  the  matter  on  a  sound 
footing  was  making  her  more  than  usually  curious. 


SAMARITAN  MARY  163 

"  Well,  I  thought  that  .  .  .  that  my  sister  might 
like  to  have  Spring  as  company  and  help  with  the 
children.  She  can't  manage  them  a  bit." 

Mary  reared  as  if  a  wasp  had  stung  her. 

"  That's  not  what  I  got  in  my  mind  for  Spring 
at  all,  sir.  She's  had  her  mother's  children  ever 
since  she  was  born  herself,  and  if  that  wasn't  enuff 
experience  till  she  starts  a  family  of  her  own,  then 
I'm  going  to  chance  it  and  refuse,  sir." 

"  But  she  could  earn  good  money."  He  was 
slightly  flushed  and  a  trifle  exasperated  at  Mary. 
"  She  could  start  that  way." 

Mary's  heart  throbbed  and  bumped  as  if  it  were 
out  of  place. 

"  And  would  I  be  overcurious,  sir,  to  ask,  if  she 
started  that  way,  what  kind  of  a  finish  might  we  all 
be  countin'  on  ?  " 

"  Well,  you  never  can  tell,  but  she  might  marry." 

"  Ah !  There's  more  in  that  suits  my  palate.  I 
got  as  much  belief  in  a  girl  like  Spring  marrying 
as  I've  got  in  what  they  teaches  in  the  Sunday 
School.  She  might  marry,  then.  That's  settled. 
I  can  breathe  without  breaking  my  heart  now,  sir." 

Quilter  Lancelot  Pendren  did  not  altogether  like 
the  tone,  but  he  was  pleased  that  she  regarded  him 
in  a  friendly  way  again. 

"  Yes.  She  might  marry.  Certainly  she  might. 
Of  course,"  he  said,  carefully  considering,  "  dressed 


164  SAMARITAN  MARY 

as  I  picture  her,  she  would  turn  the  heads  of  a 
thousand  men  in  New  York." 

"  One  would  be  sufficient,"  said  Mary,  "  if  it  so 
happened  she  managed  to  turn  him  right  about  fac- 
ing the  way  she  was  looking  at  him."  She  took  the 
broom  inside  the  house. 

Pendren  sat  there  thinking  till  Spring  brought 
out  his  tray. 

"  I  don't  see  the  slightest  reason  why  .  .  .  why 
she  shouldn't  marry,"  he  said  to  himself. 


CHAPTER  XV 

"  CORA'S  b-a-d!" 

Mary  turned  to  catch  the  drawling  tones  of 
Mark  Spinney  as  he  put  a  hot,  grinning  face  inside* 
her  kitchen  door. 

"  Mercy,  what  a  turn  you  gave  me,  Mark,"  she 
said  quickly. 

"  Turn  off  the  joy  a  bit,  my  man,  and  let  us  have 
all  the  news  to  hand." 

"  There  ain't  no  news.    Cora's  b-a-d,  that's  all !  " 

"  Meanin'  she's  scared  somethin'  fearful  and  sent 
you  tumbling  over  to  ask  me  to  come  up?  I  been 
expecting  you  an  hour,  Mark.  Suppose  you  nearly 
bust  your  boots  running?  " 

Mr.  Spinney  lurched  across  the  kitchen  and  took 
a  chair  unbidden. 

"  Always  got  a  joke  handy,  ain't  you,  Mary  ? 
Cora's  been  up  since  four  o'clock,  walkin'  the  place, 
something  turrible.  Wanted  it  that  I  get  Hek  to 
come  along.  If  Hek  can't  see  what's  doing  with 
his  own  gal  without  me  having  to  hand  him  out  a 
printed  card  of  invitation  .  .  .  I'm  not  going  to  ask 
him  why." 

Mary  threw  the  fire  together  with  one  hand  while 
165 


1 66  SAMARITAN  MARY 

she  pushed  a  saucepan  simmering  to  the  edge  with 
the  other. 

"  That's  no  argument,"  she  said.  "  You  should 
'er  got  Hek  along.  Miss  Hetty,  too,  she's  likely 
to  want  to  come  into  this.  She's  most  mortified  if 
she's  lef  out  of  things." 

"  Cora  wanted  you,  Mary.  She's  done  set  on 
Liz  Hetty  since  she  took  up  cooking  and  baking  for 
Hek.  She's  got  Hek  fixed  real  tight  these  days, 
Mary." 

"Who,  Cora?" 

"  Neow.  Miss  Hetty.  She's  up  there  twice  a 
day  now  and  turnin'  out  the  place  so  often  Hek  can't 
locate  a  thing  he  puts  down.  Good  enuff  for  Hek, 
too!  Hope  he  loses  his  head  one  of  these  days. 
She'll  hev  it  somewhere  in  her  mind,  I  reckon." 

He  allowed  a  long  laugh  to  break  from  him  as 
he  shot  his  heavy  legs  forward,  and  put  a  dead,  evil- 
smelling  pipe  between  his  lips.  Mary  fussed  about 
and  reached  for  her  bonnet  and  faded  cape  which 
always  hung  behind  the  kitchen  door. 

"  You  get  me  beat,  Mark.  Some  folks  couldn't 
take  things  as  easy.  I  was  thinkin'  of  taking  a  spell 
up  Clara  Hopkins'  way.  She's  home  now  and  work- 
ing only  three  days  a  week  at  her  job.  I  got  me 
mind  crammed  to  breakin'  with  business  these  days, 
but  I  meant  to  stand  by  Cora  all  along." 

"  She's  talkin'  about  dying,  mostly,  the  last  hour. 


SAMARITAN  MARY  167 

Wants  it  that  we  get  Deacon  Heddy  and  her  father 
to  come  right  along  an'  fix  up  that  business  about 
her  clearin'  out" 

Mary  turned  quickly.  Her  eyes  pierced  the 
man's  as  if  she  were  going  to  strike  him;  but  she 
spoke  as  calmly  as  ever. 

"  Ain't  that  serious,  Mark?  If  a  girl  wants  her 
father  mighty  bad,  ain't  she  to  have  him  ?  " 

"  I  ain't  stopping  him.  He  knows  what's  about. 
He's  got  the  use  of  his  legs  same  as  the  rest  of  us. 
Miss  Hetty  can't  stop  him  walkin',  can  she?  " 

"  Look  here,  Mark,  Liz  Hetty  ain't  in  this  at  all. 
It's  your  business  to  see  Hek's  called  to  Cora  if 
she's  scared  and  askin'  for  him." 

"  Oh,  she's  sc-a-r-ed  all  right."  A  subtle  expres- 
sion spread  over  his  face  and  he  took  his  pipe  from 
his  lips  to  smile.  "  She's  been  scared  all  day  yes- 
terday. I  had  to  stop  home  and  clean  up  the  place. 
Cora's  awful  careless  and  easy-goin'  with  things  of 
late." 

"  And  ain't  it  your  place  same  as  hers,  Mark  ? 
You  ain't  working,  and  she's  doing  double  shift 
with  the  baby  coming  and  the  house  as  well.  You 
come  right  along  with  me  now.  Who'd  you  leave 
with  Cora?" 

"  Mirandy  Bell,  she's  stopping  a  piece  while  I 
come  for  you." 

Mary  threw  up  her  hands. 


1 68  SAMARITAN  MARY 

"  Mirandy  Bell  ?  Land  o'  liberty !  She's  about 
as  useful  at  a  time  like  this  as  you  are,  Mark." 

The  man  took  it  hardly. 

"  I  got  up  at  five  o'clock." 

"  An'  Cora,  four  o'clock,  with  the  scare  of  death 
in  her,  and  not  even  her  father  called  in  to  com- 
fort her.  Suppose  Doc  Harkins  is  getting  along 
right  now.  We  must  hurry,  Mark." 

"  I  give  over  hurrying,  Mary.  Twice  I  got  half- 
way here  and  Cora  called  me  back  again.  What's 
a  chap  to  do  ?  " 

"  Do  ?  "  Mary  looked  right  through  him.  "  Any- 
thing he  can  at  a  time  like  this.  You  step  along, 
Mark,  and  I'll  be  with  you  in  a  quarter  of  a  minute. 
I  got  to  fix  things  here  before  ..." 

"  I  hear  you  got  a  bunch  of  interesting  folks 
stopping  ?  " 

"  I've  got  something  more  interesting  presently 
to  talk  to  you  about,  Mark.  Hustle  now." 

She  went  out  to  the  porch  and  spoke  to  Spring. 
The  girl  was  sitting  there  with  a  little  piece  of 
sewing  between  her  fingers  and  her  eyes  wide  with 
wonderment. 

Pendren  worked  a  pen  in  his  left  hand  slowly. 
On  his  knee  there  was  balanced  a  pad  of  note- 
paper  and  he  was  practicing  how  to  write  with  his 
left  hand. 

"  I  got  a  call  up  Cora  Spinney's  place,"  said 


SAMARITAN  MARY  169 

Mary.  "  If  I  don't  get  back  quick  I'll  send  Clara 
to  look  after  you  a  spell.  There's  a  chicken  in  the 
stew-pot,  Spring,  and  mind  you  see  it  don't  stick 
to  the  bottom.  Mr.  Pendren,  sir,  you'll  excuse  me 
while  I  trot  out  to  see  what  I  can  do  for  a  poor  soul 
that's  only  got  a  lump  of  wood  for  a  man,  and 
green  wood  at  that,  which  isn't  sort  of  encouraging 
jes'  at  present." 

Pendren  started  to  speak,  but  she  rattled  on : 

"  Benjamin's  up  the  yard,  and  if  you  should  be 
requiring  anything  immediate  just  you  holler  out." 

"  There  won't  be  anything  immediate,"  said 
Spring  with  a  little  happy  flush. 

"  Miss  Glory  is  so  capable,"  said  Pendren,  send- 
ing a  swift  glance  in  the  girl's  direction.  "  You 
might  get  this  letter  away  for  me,  if  you  don't 
mind.  I've  managed  perfectly  well  with  my  left 
hand." 

Mary  took  the  letter.  "  Look  at  that,"  she  said, 
smiling  at  him.  "  I  do  love  a  man  that  tries.  If 
that  lump  of  green  wood  in  my  kitchen,"  she 
added,  lowering  her  voice,  "  would  only  do  some- 
thing that's  well-nigh  impossible,  I'd  think  a  heap 
more  of  him.  But  there  ...  I  must  push  him 
along.  Cora's  getting  cold  feet  about  herself  with 
no  one  but  Mirandy  Bell  to  do  as  much  as  a  word 
for  her." 

She  bustled  off,  and  Mark  Spinney  took  a  short 


SAMARITAN  MARY 

cut  somewhere  while  she  herself  deliberately  set 
out  towards  the  next  field.  She  meant  to  pay  a 
call  on  Hek  Dean  as  she  went  past  his  house. 
Mark's  duties  had  to  be  undertaken  by  somebody, 
even  if  they  were  of  the  sort  that  called  up  all 
manner  of  trouble. 

Spring  watched  the  short,  bulky  figure  climb 
through  the  fence  and  splash  through  the  sandy 
patches  to  Hek  Dean's  land.  With  a  wonderful 
glow  in  her  eyes  she  turned  to  Pendren. 

"  I  wish  she'd  bring  the  baby  back  with  her, 
don't  you?" 

He  held  her  eyes  a  moment. 

"  I  thought  that  you'd  had  enough  of  that  sort  of 
thing  to  last  you  the  rest  of  your  life?  " 

"  Enough  of  babies — dear,  little,  cuddley 
things?"  She  seemed  amazed  at  him.  "I  could 
never  love  anything  in  all  my  life  as  I  love  our  last 
baby.  Sometimes  I  see  her  at  nights  and  I  feel  her 
little  velvety  arms  creeping  about  my  neck.  ..." 

Her  glad  expression  changed;  tears  trembled  at 
the  edge  of  her  eyes,  and  one  tumbled  down  and 
damped  the  sewing  she  had  in  her  hand. 

"  I'll  hate  it  if  you  cry,"  said  Pendren. 

Spring  mopped  her  face  with  the  sewing. 

"  After  all,  it  isn't  a  thing  to  cry  about,  is  it  ?  I 
haven't  lost  them  for  good  and  all.  I'll  be  back 
some  day,  won't  I?  Oh,  Mr.  Pendren,  you're  so 


SAMARITAN  MARY  171 

good  and  so  ...  rich.  ..."  Stumblingly  she  said 
it,  like  a  nervous  child.  "  You  could  arrange  any- 
thing .  .  .  anything,  couldn't  you  ?  " 

He  put  down  the  pen  and  sat  f oward. 

"  You've  only  got  to  say  it.  I'll  buy  the  whole 
family  for  you  if  you  want  it."  In  his  face  there 
was  a  sudden  glow.  He  felt  himself  trembling  on 
the  edge  of  the  precipice  that  he  had  avoided  that 
very  morning.  The  cover  he  usually  had  over  his 
knees  was  pushed  aside.  He  made  an  attempt  to 
stand  on  his  feet  alone  again. 

Spring  did  not  notice  it.  She  was  trembling  with 
excitement. 

"  It  would  be  just  lovely  if  .  .  .if  you  really 
could,"  she  said,  half  smiling.  "...  But  of  course 
they  are  not  in  the  shops  like  the  things  you  spoke 
of  this  morning.  If  they  were  ..." 

Her  face  beamed  and  he  took  two  or  three  steps 
towards  her. 

"  If  they  were  .  .  .  mother  would  be  the  most 
expensive,  of  course.  Or  Elsa.  Elsa  has  the  most 
glorious  hair — nothing  like  mine,  and  ever  so  much 
real  gold  running  through  it.  Prue — would,  of 
course,  be  really  quite  expensive,  though  she  is 
thinner  than  the  rest  of  us.  Her  voice  is  just  per- 
fectly heavenly.  You  would  wonder  that  she  could 
have  it  all  in  her  body." 

While  she  rattled  on,   flushed  and  happy,  the 


172  SAMARITAN  MARY 

young  man  gained  her  chair,  slipped  to  the  ground, 
and  sat  contentedly  at  her  feet. 

"  If  I  was  putting  a  price  on  our  family,  Mr. 
Pendren,"  Spring  hesitated,  "  and  it  was  really  to 
be  bought  like  that,  I  think  I  should  have  to  start 
at  a  reserve  .  .  .  isn't  it?  You  know,  you  make 
the  value  out  first  of  all  and  won't  take  a  cent 
under.  Would  that  scare  you  if  you  really  con- 
sidered .  .  .  buying  an  expensive  family  like 
ours?" 

Full  in  his  face  she  laughed,  for  he  had  turned 
towards  her  and  was  looking  right  into  her  eyes. 

"  Nothing  in  the  world  would  scare  me  if  ... 
if  it  meant  ..."  He  stopped,  nervous,  then  he 
went  on  again.  "  I  say,  they  must  be  the  most 
wonderful  lot  of  children  ever  built.  Couldn't  we 
go  and  see  them?  I'm  just  aching  to  hear  Elsa 
sing  and  the  rest  of  it." 

"  You'd  go  crazy  in  ten  minutes  over  Christine 
if  you  care  for  girls  at  all.  She's  perfectly  lovely 
and  sweet  all  the  time.  Have  you  ever  seen  any- 
body talk  with  her  eyes,  Mr.  Pendren  ?  " 

"  No,  but  I've  heard  them  quite  often,"  he  an- 
swered, watching  the  dark-rimmed  iris  of  her  own. 

"  Well;  Christine  never  has  to  open  her  lips, 
mother  says.  If  you  want  to  punish  her  she's  say- 
ing she  is  ever  so  sorry  long  before  she  has  stopped 
crying  enough  to  speak." 


SAMARITAN  MARY  173 

Pendren  grew  hot.  "  Who  ever  wanted  to  punish 
a  child  like  that  ?  "  he  asked  almost  fiercely,  still 
watching  the  eyes  near  him. 

"  Why,  nobody  ever  wanted  to  punish  her;  but 
sometimes,  perhaps " 

"  I'd  break  my  heart  if  anybody  put  a  finger  on 
her,"  he  went  on,  deliberately  supporting  his  tired 
back  by  resting  his  shoulder  against  the  girl's  knee. 
"  I'd  kill  the  man  who  made  her  unhappy,  and  I'd 
hang  for  murder  and  be  pleased  to  do  it." 

Spring  dropped  her  eyes. 

"  Why,  you  are  talking  as  if  you  knew  Christine 
all  the  time !  "  she  said.  "  Are  you  only  making-up 
so  as  to  please  me?  " 

"  I  never  make-up  to  you,"  he  said.  "  Don't  look 
away  so  often;  I  can't  understand  you  so  well  when 
you  turn  your  head.  Of  course  I  know  Christine 
and  the  whole  lot  of  them.  Mother,  Elsa,  Christine, 
Prue.  I've  only  got  to  look  into  your  face,  and 
while  you  are  talking  I  see  them  all  dancing  round 
merrily.  It's  as  good  as  being  at  home  with  them 
all." 

"  It  couldn't  be  as  good  as  being  there.  You've 
no  idea  what  mother  is  like.  ..."  Suddenly  she 
stopped.  A  brightness  enveloped  her  face  and  she 
turned  eyes  in  which  the  sunlight  danced  towards 
him. 

"  Is  that  what  you  meant  when  you  said  .    .    . 


174  SAMARITAN  MARY 

said,  once,  that  you'd  seen  mother's  beautiful  little 
feet  ?  You  mean  just  through  looking  in  my  eyes." 

"  Something  like  that.  Didn't  you  know  that  you 
were  the  whole  family,  Elsa,  Prue,  and  Christine 
in  one." 

"  But  mother  .  .  .  you  spoke  as  if  you  really  had 
seen  her !  " 

"  I  said  I  had  been  watching  her  feet  for  half 
an  hour  at  a  time.  Well,  I  was  watching  you  in 
the  hammock  that  day.  You  are  just  your  mother 
over  again,  don't  you  see?  " 

Evidently  she  did  not  quite,  but  something  else 
disturbed  her. 

"  Do  you  know  you've  been  most  comforting  to 
me  today,  Mr.  Pendren,  and  you've  been  awfully 
nice,  explaining  things.  Well,  there's  an  awful 
story  on  my  mind.  Not  so  much  of  a  story  as  it 
is  a  kind  of  ...  covered-up  sin." 

"  Something  you've  told  me,  I'll  wager." 

"  No,  something  I've  never  told  you." 

He  leaned  more  against  her  knee.  "  Oh,  come 
now,  we're  not  playing  at  confessions.  I  hate  that 
kind  of  thing.  Let  us  talk  about  the  family.  What 
do  you  want  me  to  do?  Ask  what  you  like.  You 
know  I  am  really  ever  so  much  in  your  debt." 

Spring  folded  the  sewing  because  it  was  almost 
impossible  to  do  anything  else  with  it. 

"  And  don't  wriggle  your  hands  so."    He  caught 


SAMARITAN  MARY  175 

hold  of  one  of  her  hands  and  did  not  let  it  go  again. 
The  action  did  not  even  disturb  her. 

"  Look  here,"  he  went  on  earnestly.  "  When  you 
said  just  now  that  I  was  so  good  and  so  rich  and 
that  I  could  arrange  anything,  what  did  you 
mean  ?  " 

"  I  meant  .  .  .  that  you  could  really  help  me  to 
make  some  money.  Oh,  it  will  have  to  be  lots  and 
lots !  There  are  so  many  of  us,  and  the  mortgage, 
and  .  .  ." 

"  Now  we  are  talking.  I  want  to  help  you. 
Wasn't  I  suggesting  the  very  thing  this  morning? 
Now  suppose  I  write  to  my  sister  and  ask  her  to 
have  you  with  her.  She's  a  trifle  particular  over 
the  children,  but  ..." 

"  Oh,  would  there  be  children  ?  I'd  love  that  kind 
of  work." 

"  Well,  Mary  doesn't  think  you  ought  to  take  it 
on  any  more;  but  you  see,  if  my  sister  took  an  in- 
terest in  you,  which  she  will  certainly  do  if  I  ask 
her,  she  might  even  promote  you  to  something 
better." 

"  It  sounds  ever  so  good.    When  could  I  go?  " 

"  You  could  go  with  me.  I  shall  be  returning 
very  shortly  now,  and  I  could  write  first  of  all." 

"  And  please  could  you  send  a  first  installment  of 
the  money  to  mother  immediately  I  begin." 

The  young  man  considered. 


176  SAMARITAN  MARY 

"  Well,  that  could  be  arranged,  certainly;  but  I'm 
afraid  it  would  require  something  like  a  lump  sum 
down  to  make  any  difference  to  the  mortgage. 
Now  suppose  I  run  down  presently  in  the  auto. 
I'm  having  it  fixed  right  away.  I  could  take  you 
with  me  and  then  we  could  do  my  little  bit  of  busi- 
ness and  return  to  New  York  in  a  day." 

The  plans  made  the  girl  vibrate  with  something 
she  had  never  experienced  before. 

"  Is  it  going  to  be  a  very  big  fight,"  she  asked. 
"  I  mean,  the  business  with  the  Blessing  in  it  ?  " 

"  Dear  child,"  he  cornered  the  other  hand  that 
had  strayed  to  her  throat,  "  there's  no  blessing  in 
it  at  all.  It's  a  beastly  business  altogether,  I  can 
tell  you.  But  I  don't  want  to  discuss  it.  I  get  hot 
and  mad,  and  I  never,  never  want  to  get  that  way 
when  I'm  with  you  again." 

"  That's  awfully  nice  of  you,  and  perhaps  you'll 
make  it  right  for  those  poor  wretched  people  who 
you  speak  of  fighting.  I  don't  believe  you'd  be 
mean  enough  to  keep  anything  from  them  that  was 
really  theirs." 

The  young  man  hesitated,  then  replied : 

"  It's  not  so  much  to  me  as  to  my  father.  Oh, 
you  don't  know  how  he  has  worked  and  .  .  .  any- 
way, whatever  I  do,  you  may  be  quite  certain  that 
I'm  fighting  for  Dad  and  not  myself." 

"  That's  just  what  makes  you  so  ...  splendid," 


SAMARITAN  MARY  177 

came  from  Spring.  "  You  do  try  so  hard.  Why, 
you  managed  to  write  those  letters  with  your  left 
hand,  and  you  did  get  right  along  to  the  parlor  the 
other  day  with  your  bad  wrist  ...  oh,  you've  done 
it  again You've  ..." 

He  laughed  loudly.  "  Yes,  I've  done  it  again; 
but  I  didn't  crawl  this  time.  I  walked  boldly.  I 
wondered  you  didn't  start  making  a  fuss  long  ago. 
It's  been  such  a  relief  to  do  something  really  for 
myself." 

Spring's  eyes  dulled  a  trifle. 

"  You're  getting  quite  strong  again,  and  I  sup- 
pose I  should  really  be  thankful." 

"  I  can't  tell  you  how  thankful  I  am.  Aren't 
you?" 

"  Of  course,  in  a  way;  but  then  ..."  Her  face 
turned  to  his  like  a  sensitive  child's. 

"  It's  been  perfectly  lovely,  Mr.  Pendren.' 

"  It's  been  ..."  He  withheld  the  words,  and 
just  stood  up  carefully,  still  holding  her  hands,  and 
looking  down  into  the  beautiful  depths  of  her  eyes. 
Without  finishing  what  he  had  been  going  to  say,  he 
drew  backwards  slowly  and  took  his  chair.  Spring 
never  knew  what  that  restraint  had  been  to  him, 
and  her  heart  palpitated  with  something  like  childish 
fear  as  she  observed  his  face. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

HE  remained  silent  and  gloomily  thoughtful  for 
a  while;  then  Spring  brought  out  his  tray. 

"  I  haven't  told  you  all  my  name,  Mr.  Pendren," 
she  said,  sighing  as  she  got  the  confession  off  her 
mind. 

"  I  don't  care."  He  was  decidedly  brusque  and 
hardly  said  "  Thank  you  "  as  she  placed  the  tray 
on  his  knee. 

"  I  thought  that  you  might  like  to  know  the  rest 
of  it  and  mother's  as  well." 

"  Please  do  not  talk  to  me  for  a  little,  Spring. 
I'm  .  .  .  I'm  dreadfully  bad-tempered  at  present." 

She  moved  away  immediately.  Then  he  called 
her  almost  roughly. 

"  That  doesn't  mean  you  should  go.  Why  don't 
you  .  .  ." 

"  If  I  stayed  I  should  only  be  talking."  So  simply 
she  said  it  that  he  felt  ashamed. 

"  Talk  all  you  want  to !  "  he  sighed  impatiently. 
"  So  your  name's  not  Glory?  " 

"Oh,  yes,  it  is;  but  it's  something  else  as  well. 
I'm  Spring  Glory  and  mother  is  Anna  Glory,  but 
we're  .  .  ." 

178 


SAMARITAN  MARY  179 

He  put  up  a  finger.  "  Do  you  know  I've  got  an 
idea  we  haven't  been  treating  each  other  quite 
fairly.  You've  kept  things  from  me,  and  I've  cer- 
tainly kept  them  from  you.  Suppose  we  leave  it 
at  that  for  the  present.  If  you  turn  on  the  confi- 
dence tap  now  I've  got  to  do  the  same  .  .  .  and  I 
don't  feel  like  it.  No,  I'm  hanged  if  I  do.  Little 
girl,  would  you  mind  awfully  if  I  told  you  to  go 
inside  and  not  come  out  again  till  I  call?  " 

"Of  course  I  won't  mind.  And  about  the  other, 
I  just  wanted  to  have  it  clear  I  was  sorry  to  have 
been  cheating  you." 

He  forgot  the  tray  on  his  knees  and  leaned  back 
and  closed  his  eyes. 

"  Looks  like  we've  all  been  cheating.  My  good- 
ness ...  if  she  only  knew." 

He  put  the  tray  away  from  him,  and  all  the  after- 
noon lay  there  thinking.  That  she  had  withheld  her 
full  name  never  occurred  to  him  as  anything  but  a 
childish  freak.  They  never  had  started  being  serious 
till  lately  .  .  .  lately.  It  came  to  him  then  that  af- 
fairs generally  were  more  than  serious  with  him. 
The  business  concerning  the  firm  and  his  father  was 
turned  aside  for  something  he  could  not  get  rid  of. 

The  important  thing  to  do  seemed  to  bring  a  cer- 
tain amount  of  happiness  right  to  this  child's  feet. 

He  found  himself  considering  her  family  with 
something  like  a  new  enthusiasm,  and  how  their  for- 


i8o  SAMARITAN  MARY 

tunes  could  be  bettered.  He  counted  the  family  over 
in  his  mind.  If  Elsa  could  sing,  she  might  be  fully 
seven;  and  Christine,  who  never  spoke  but  with  her 
eyes  .  .  .  well,  she  might  be  anything,  but  surely 
within  the  age  limit  when  spanking  was  not  pro- 
hibited. Then  there  was  Prue,  with  the  glorious 
hair.  He  wondered  how  many  years  of  growth  it 
took  to  make  hair  as  wonderful  as  Spring  had  de- 
scribed it.  And  last  of  all  ...  there  was  Spring 
herself.  She  was  nearly  seventeen,  he  had  heard 
that  once,  and  she  seemed  to  carry  the  responsibili- 
ties of  the  whole  crowd  on  her  small  shapely 
shoulders. 

Out  of  the  sum  total  of  all  this  he  could  not  make 
very  much;  but  it  was  sufficient  to  tell  him  that  any 
sum  his  sister  paid  for  service  to  her  children  would 
not  cover  much  of  the  expense  of  such  a  family, 
even  leaving  out  the  ones  he  knew  that  the  girl  had 
never  mentioned.  Oh,  yes,  there  was  a  baby  .  .  . 
something  with  velvety  arms  that  cuddled  into  your 
neck.  He  had  never  had  such  an  experience;  but 
the  thought  of  it  made  him  wriggle  as  if  a  worm 
had  crawled  over  him.  Anything  as  soft  as  that 
really  made  him  nervous.  Gradually  his  mind  came 
round  to  Spring  and  her  pure  soul  again. 

So  her  name  was  not  only  Spring  Glory.  There 
was  really  a  romance  in  the  whole  thing. 

He  was  smiling  to  himself  at  the  thought  when 


SAMARITAN  MARY  181 

somebody  passed  him  to  go  up  the  steps.  It  was 
Benjamin,  who  with  stentorian  breaths  was  making 
for  the  kitchen  where  Spring  was  singing  softly  as 
she  worked.  At  first  Pendren  was  struck  by  the 
boy's  immense  shadow  cutting  off  the  sunlight,  then 
by  the  noise  of  his  breathing,  and  then  by  the  smile 
widening  as  he  went  by. 

Pendren  said  something  about  the  weather,  and 
Benjamin  just  answered  him,  and  continued  to  go 
up  the  steps.  He  seemed  in  a  hurry  to  get  inside  the 
house.  Usually  he  stopped  and  said  a  few  words 
about  the  country  or  the  automobile  or  the  long 
talked  of  accident,  or  about  Mary  Settler,  or  him- 
self; but  today.  .  .  . 

Pendren  began  to  feel  distinctly  as  if  he  had 
really  been  in  the  way  when  Benjamin  had  passed. 

"  Confound  him.  Perhaps  he  hasn't  had  his 
dinner,  or  .  .  ." 

On  top  of  his  reflections  concerning  Spring  came 
the  thought  that  perhaps  Benjamin  had  come  in  to 
take  advantage  of  Mary's  absence  by  having  a  word 
or  two  with  the  girl.  Perhaps  Spring  liked  to  have 
Benjamin  to  talk  to  her.  He  was  a  good  fellow,  al- 
though a  little  uncouth. 

Pendren  sat  up  and  called  to  Spring.  She  looked 
out  the  door  a  moment  afterwards. 

"  I  can't  come  now,"  she  said.  "  I'm  talking  to 
Benjamin." 


1 82  SAMARITAN  MARY 

He  took  it  as  any  man  might  have. 

"  Serves  me  right,"  he  reflected  grimly.  "  I  sent 
her  away  and  I'm  suffering  for  it.  Suffering.  Stars 
and  stripes!  I  could  be  jealous  about  her,  and  I 
haven't  the  slightest  right.  Oh,  hang  everything! 
I  wish  I'd  never  come  here." 

He  got  up  and  walked  slowly  to  the  door  from 
the  porch,  entering.  Benjamin  was  talking,  and 
Spring  was  answering  him  as  she  might  have  an- 
swered one  of  her  baby  sisters.  Pendren,  gripping 
the  door,  like  a  thief,  listened. 

Benjamin  was  talking.  "  'Course  it's  caring, 
Miss  Spring.  I'm  just  about  caring  as  much  as 
anybody,  though  mostly  I  stops  in  the  yard  when 
I'm  bursting  to  get  down  in  the  kitchen.  Mary 
mightn't  believe  it,  but  she  will  presently.  A  chap 
without  a  ...  girl  might  as  well  be  a  bottle  of 
4  fiz '  without  a  cork.  There's  nothin'  in  him  less 
she's  right  there  to  keep  him  in  his  place;  and  if 
my  place's  the  yard  then  why  couldn't  we  work  the 
place  good  and  hard,  with  me  takin'  on  every  bit 
of  the  outside  work.  I  guess  there  ain't  so  much 
difference  between  us,  after  all." 

Pendren  shut  his  left  hand  tightly  and  leaned 
against  the  wall  with  the  bandaged  one.  He  could 
only  make  certain  things  out  of  this  conversation, 
and  they  did  not  add  to  his  peace  of  mind.  He 


SAMARITAN  MARY  183 

waited  for  the  girl  to  make  answer  to  the  apparent 
advances  of  Benjamin. 

Then  Spring  spoke.  "  I  think  it  would  be  better 
for  everybody,  Benjamin.  Wouldn't  a  wedding  be 
a  perfectly  lovely  thing  ?  " 

Pendren  shivered.  He  bit  his  teeth  into  his  lower 
lip,  for  not  only  was  his  strength  giving  out,  but  his 
patience  also. 

"  I've  saved  ever  since  I  was  fourteen,"  Benjamin 
was  saying.  "  An'  I  got  no  cause  to  be  ashamed 
to  offer  myself." 

"  One  would  never  be  ashamed,"  Spring  was  tak- 
ing things  up  again,  "  if  it's  love  all  through,  Ben- 
jamin." 

"  Dunno  what  you'd  call  it,  Miss  Spring,  but  it's 
here  .  .  .  here,  and  that's  where  the  safest  things 
belonging  to  a  man  lie,  usual,  in  his  heart,  not  in 
his  pocket.  An'  so  I  made  up  my  mind  when  Mary 
went  out  today  to  come  right  along  and  ask 
you  ..." 

A  sudden  darkening  of  the  doorway  stopped  Ben- 
jamin from  saying  more,  and  Spring  opened  her 
mouth  very  wide,  amazed  to  see  Pendren  standing 
there  gesticulating  with  his  bad  hand  while  he  sup- 
ported himself  against  the  frame  of  the  door  with 
his  other. 

"  Oughtn't  I  to  come  in  ...  to  come  in  ?  "  he 
asked  fiercely,  angry  lights  in  his  eyes.  "  I'm  sure 


1 84  SAMARITAN  MARY 

I've  been  out  long  enough  today.  Why  .  .  .  why 
.  .  .  don't  you  come  and  .  .  .  and  suggest  my 
coming  inside  ?  " 

He  realized  that  he  was  behaving  foolishly,  that 
his  manner  was  querulous;  but  Spring  took  him 
seriously. 

"  I'm  so  sorry,"  she  said.  "  You  see,  Ben- 
jamin ..."  She  stopped,  knowing  that  she  could 
not  divulge  what  the  boy  had  confided  to  her. 

"  You  see  .  .  .  Benjamin." 

"  Of  course  I  can  see  him,"  said  Pendren  irri- 
tably. 

He  stood  staring  at  Benjamin  till  the  great,  shock- 
headed  fellow  began  to  measure  his  own  length 
nervously  trying  to  discover  what  everybody  was 
referring  to. 

"  Ain't  nothing  crook  with  me  .  .  .  eh  ? "  he 
asked,  observing  his  heels  and  his  elbows  carefully. 

Spring  realized  that  she  had  brought  about  a  mis- 
understanding unmeaningly  and  began  to  laugh 
over  the  cause  of  it. 

Pendren,  who  saw  no  joke,  turned  to  go  from 
the  kitchen.  He  had  suddenly  become  aware  of  the 
fact  that  the  laugh  was  with  Spring  against  him, 
and  he  was  furious  with  himself,  and  wroth  with 
the  whole  situation  and  with  the  circumstances  that 
had  brought  him  into  it  at  all. 

"When  will  Miss  Settler  be  home?"  he  asked 


SAMARITAN  MARY  185 

sharply.  "  I  must  get  fixed  for  a  move  on  to- 
morrow. Tonight,  if  possible.  This  sort  of  thing 
can't  go  on  any  longer." 

Spring  was  going  to  ask :  "  What  thing  ?  "  but 
the  expression  Quilter  Lancelot  Pendren  was  wear- 
ing would  not  permit  her  to  say  a  word.  She  stood 
gazing*at  him  very  sorry  and  very  upset,  for  some 
scarcely  known  reason,  and  Benjamin  stood  awk- 
wardly and  uncertainly  beside  her. 

Pendren  had  started  his  temper  blazing,  and  it 
got  out  of  hand  as  quickly  as  a  prairie  fire. 

"  I'd  like  you,"  he  denoted  Benjamin  by  a  wave 
of  one  hand.  "  I'd  like  you  to  give  me  a  hand 
getting  my  things  together,  and  if  Miss  Settler  does 
not  return  presently  you  might  hunt  out  my  boots. 
I  can't  go  to  New  York  in  bath  slippers." 

Benjamin  stared  at  him,  as  though  he  thought 
that  the  young  man  from  the  city  had  taken  leave 
of  his  senses. 

"  My  boots,"  Pendren  said  stiffly,  to  impress 
Spring  with  the  firmness  of  his  intentions.  "  I'd 
be  obliged  if  someone  would  tell  me  just  where  they 
are." 

"  You  really  mean  to  ...  to  go  ?"  It  was  all 
that  Spring  could  say.  Her  tone  turned  the  tide 
of  his  resentment,  but  although  the  young  man  an- 
swered her  mildly,  he  still  held  himself  aloof. 

"  I've  been  meaning  to  go  .    .    .  every  day  and 


1 86  SAMARITAN  MARY 

I've  delayed  foolishly,"  he  said.  "  Perhaps  it  would 
be  wiser  if  I  did  not  wait  for  Mary's  return.  She 
is  apt  to  persuade  one,  and  I'm  quite  strong  enough 
now  to  get  into  the  car  and  run  my  business 
through.  Have  you  the  least  idea  where  those  boots 
of  mine  are?  " 

Spring  began  to  search  the  kitchen.  Benjamin 
followed  her  about,  awkwardly  searching  in  pre- 
cisely the  same  places  as  she  did  to  find  the  boots. 

"  Guess  this  is  a  kind  of  a  sort  of  Sherlock 
Holmes  job  you've  turned  on  to  us,"  ventured  Ben- 
jamin when  they  came  round  to  the  side  of  the 
kitchen  -where  young  Pendren  lingered,  still  grip- 
ping the  door  with  his  best  hand.  "  Mary,  now, 
she  hadn't  ought  to  hev  put  a  chap's  boots  away  so 
careful.  Maybe  it's  the  mice  she's  fearing.  You 
started  out  from  the  accident  with  as  decent  a  pair 
as  was  ever  skin  to  a  hoss.  Sure  Mary  can't  be 
wearing  them  herself." 

"  They  must  be  somewhere  in  the  front  parlor," 
said  Spring  at  last.  "  Would  you  .  .  .  would  you 
mind  being  taken  back  to  your  own  room,  Mr.  Pen- 
dren? Then  we  could  hunt  in  there  while  you  sat 
and  watched  us." 

Just  for  a  moment  the  young  man  had  forgotten 
his  ill  humor  and  was  looking  from  her  to  Benjamin 
and  back  again  from  Benjamin  to  the  girl.  He  was 
wondering  how  this  tousle-headed  fellow  had 


SAMARITAN  MARY  187 

started  out  with  the  notion  that  a  girl  like  Spring 
could  ever  care  a  rap  about  him. 

"  I  think  I  will  go  to  my  room,  thank  you,"  he 
said  calmly,  "  and  if  you  can  unearth  my  boots  I 
will  be  really  grateful." 

He  let  go  the  door  frame  and  began  to  move  un- 
steadily along  the  passage.  Spring  watched  him 
with  Benjamin,  her  eyes  dull  with  the  depression 
of  fear  lest  he  should  drop  before  he  got  to  his 
room. 

She  followed  him  along  the  passage.  He  turned 
his  head  and  spoke  over  his  shoulder  near  the  door 
of  his  room. 

"  I'd  like  to  get  that  car  along  tonight.  Boots  or 
no  boots,  I  can  delay  no  longer." 

When  they  had  both  reached  the  little  parlor, 
Pendren  settled  down  on  the  couch  bed  like  a  weary, 
moody  child.  He  looked  at  Spring. 

"  I  am  convinced  that  I  was  right,  after  all,  when 
I  called  you  a  woman  that  time.  You  have  a  won- 
derful way  of  baffling  a  chap,  so  I've  got  to  think 
twice  before  I  can  .  .  .  can  trust  myself  to  even, 
even  ..."  He  stopped  because  the  girl  was  stand- 
ing there  looking  as  if  she  might  be  expected  to 
break  into  tears  any  minute. 

"What's  the  matter?"  he  broke  out  sharply. 

"  You  change  your  mind  so  quickly,"  Spring 
said. 


1 88  SAMARITAN  MARY 

But  young  Pendren  went  straight  to  the  mark. 

"  When  I  discovered  just  today  that  you  were 
most  of  all  a  woman  before  .  .  .  before  anything 
else  it  came  naturally  as  a  bit  of  a  shock.  So  many 
things  you  have  been  keeping  back  from  me,  though 
you  were  honest  enough  to  allow  that  you  had  not 
told  me  all  your  name.  There  were  other  things, 
too,  that  you  had  not  told  me,  and  yet  we  seemed 
to  get  into  the  private  corners  of  your  family  only 
an  hour  or  so  ago.  We  were  learning  all  about  Prue 
and  Christine,  and  .  .  .  and  your  mother,  and  your 
coming  to  New  York  to  .  .  .to  take  up  a  proper 
start  and  to  earn  enough  to  make  things  go,  and 
then  .  .  .  and  then  I  suddenly  find  out  .  .  .  other 
things.  Miss  Spring,  honest  Injun,  do  you  think 
you  are  treating  me  fairly?  " 

Spring's  face  glowed  with  fresh  hot  color.  She 
did  not  know  what  to  say. 

"  You  must  admit,  Miss  Glory,  that  you've  left 
an  awful  lot  out  that,  that,  well,  might  have  made 
things  easier  between  us  if  you  had  told  them  to 
me." 

"  I  wanted  to  tell  them,"  came  simply  from 
Spring.  "  Only  you  would  not  allow  me  to  speak 
today." 

"  Then  I  suppose  I  have  only  got  myself  to 
blame.  Would  you  mind  turning  all  the  things  over 
in  this  room  and  seeing  if  you  could  find  those 


SAMARITAN  MARY  189 

boots?  I  never  knew  a  pair  of  boots  to  cause  so 
much  trouble  before." 

He  was  arriving  at  that  stage  at  which  a  man 
asks  himself  whether  he  may  not  have  overdone  his 
righteous  wrath  and  indignation.  He  sat  watching 
the  girl  turn  over  his  bag  and  Mary  Settler's  old 
chest. 

"  Were  they  ordinary  boots,  just  like  anybody 
else  would  be  wearing,  Mr.  Pendren  ?  "  Spring  asked 
presently,  when  he  had  stared  at  her  for  quite  an 
uncomfortable  time. 

"  Quite  ordinary  black  boots,"  he  said  indiffer- 
ently. Then  all  at  once  he  got  up  again  and  moved 
slowly  towards  her. 

"  Stop  looking,"  he  said,  and  restrained  her  as 
she  attempted  to  go  down  on  her  hands  and  knees 
under  the  table  in  the  corner.  But  Spring  had  al- 
ready stooped  and  was  nearly  under  the  table.  He 
caught  her  tenderly,  gently,  and  almost  reverently 
by  the  shoulders  to  raise  her  to  her  feet. 

She  righted  herself  and  found  her  small  body 
very  close  to  his  and  that  he  had  not  even  taken  his 
hands  from  her  shoulders.  Turning  her  about,  he 
looked  straight  into  her  face. 

"  So  .  .  .  you  think  it  ought  to  be  love  all 
through,  Spring?" 

Very  slowly  he  said  it,  and  the  girl  looked  back 
into  his  face  unafraid,  but  wondering. 


i9o  SAMARITAN  MARY 

"  Why,  yes.    For  Benjamin.    Don't  you?" 

"  I  never  knew  till  this  last  hour  that  Benjamin 
came  into  it  at  all,  Spring.  That's  one  of  the 
dreadfully  horrible,  womanish  things  you  kept  from 
me." 

Spring  knew  that  she  had  never  been  held  in  such 
a  grip  in  all  her  life,  for  the  young  man  was  so 
earnest  now  that  he  had  forgotten  to  remove  his 
fingers  from  her  slim  young  arms. 

"  But,  you  see  ...  it  would  never  have  done  for 
me  to  have  mentioned  anything  to  do  with  Benjamin 
or  Clara,  because  you  see  it's  his  own  very  private 
affair  and  ..." 

"  Clara?    Who  the  ...  who's  Clara,  now?" 

"  Why,  Benjamin  is  ever  so  much  in  love  with 
Clara,  and  Mary  isn't  altogether  pleased  because,  of 
course,  Clara  is  ever  so  much  older  than  Benjamin, 
£>ut  it  doesn't  seem  to  matter  to  me  at  all.  Would 
you  think  it  a  very  bad  thing,  Mr.  Pendren,  if  ... 
if  you  were  really  caring  all  through,  and  the  girl 
you  just  loved  better  than  anything  in  your  whole 
life  was  more  like  your  mother?  Would  you  mind ? 
Would  you?  Don't  you  think  caring  is  just  the 
same  whether  it  is  young  or  old,  or  like  a  sister,  or 
like  a  mother  ?  Don't  you  ?  .  .  . " 

But  Pendren  could  not  take  all  this  in.  He  was 
so  overcome  at  the  idea  of  his  stupid  mistake  re- 
garding the  farm-help  and  the  garrulous  woman 


SAMARITAN  MARY  191 

who  visited  the  place  mostly  in  the  evening,  that  he 
just  clung  to  Spring  and  forced  her  to  come  and 
sit  down  with  him  on  the  couch-bed. 

"  I  think  you  are  the  most  beautiful  little  soul 
ever  born,"  he  started.  "  Spring,  I've  got  ever  so 
much  to  tell  you  about  that  same  kind  of  caring  all 
through  that  you  talk  about.  Why,  all  my  life  I've 
hunted  for  it  and  women  have  come  and  passed,  and 
once  ..." 

At  this  very  minute,  just  when  Spring  had  al- 
lowed her  hands  to  be  taken  firmly  in  his,  and  just 
when  Pendren  started  on  the  story  of  his  life  with 
some  definite  purpose,  Mary  Settler  put  her  head 
around  the  door  and  gave  her  opinion  outright  as 
to  the  manner  in  which  some  people  set  about  find- 
ing a  pair  of  boots  that  had  never  been  lost  at  all. 

"  If  it's  boots,  Mr.  Pendren,  sir,  that's  keeping 
you  from  being  overhappy  in  this  climate,  there 
they  are.  Benjamin  thinks  that  car  ought  to  be 
around  here  about  sunset.  It's  getting  on  that  side 
now,  so  .  .  . " 

Never  before  had  Mary  Settler  seemed  to  possess 
so  much  spine.  She  stood  there  just  looking  at  him, 
but  in  that  look  many  things  were  plain.  Pendren 
got  up  slowly  from  the  bed  and  took  his  boots  with- 
out a  word. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

PENDREN'S  car  had  been  brought  into  the  yard, 
but  the  young  man  himself  remained  in  the  front 
room  just  as  Mary  and  Spring  had  left  him  there. 

On  the  floor  in  the  half  dark  his  boots  looked  to 
him  like  the  end  of  all  things,  for  after  Mary  had 
departed  to  the  kitchen,  taking  the  girl  with  her,  he 
had  been  aware  for  the  first  time  that  he  was  an 
intruder  rather  than  a  welcome  guest. 

He  sat  on  the  edge  of  the  little  stretcher  and 
touched  the  fabric  of  the  covers.  Nothing  had 
ever  appeared  so  deliciously  cool  and  easy  before. 
All  around  him  there  was  the  peace  of  something 
which  he  felt  he  had  been  living  in  for  an  eternity, 
the  beginning  of  which  had  been  lost  somewhere 
and  the  end  of  which  was  right  now  staring  him  in 
the  face.  The  smell  of  recently  cut  grass  across 
the  road  filled  him  with  a  feeling,  the  like  of  which 
he  had  experienced  only  once  in  his  life  before,  and 
that  was  when  he  was  leaving  the  newly-made  grave 
of  his  best  man-friend. 

He  realized  it  the  very  moment  Mary  had  handed 
him  his  boots.  There  in  front  of  him  were  his 
boots  polished  so  that  even  in  the  half-light  they 

192 


SAMARITAN  MARY  193 

seemed  to  mock  him  by  their  readiness  for  action. 
Twice  within  the  last  week  he  had  cautioned  him- 
self not  to  ask  questions  about  his  boots,  and  for, 
the  very  reason  that  he  wished  to  avoid  the  un- 
pleasant sensation  of  a  break  from  his  secret  com- 
forts. And  now  he  had  done  the  very  thing  to 
bring  about  that  shock,  and  the  break  was  here,  and 
there  were  but  ten  minutes  to  make  up  his  mind 
as  to  what  he  was  going  to  do. 

Once  or  twice  he  wondered  whether  Mary  was 
considering  his  sudden  resolution  to  go  a  joke;  and 
was  just  humoring  him  by  seeming  to  consent  to  it. 
She  was  not  the  woman  to  allow  him  to  go  out 
into  the  dusky  uncertainty  of  the  country  while  he 
was  still  so  weak. 

She  could  not  possess  a  spirit  of  such  pure  Sa- 
maritanism  and  permit  him  to  go  .  .  .  but  then  she 
had  put  the  case  so  cleverly  and  directly.  That  was 
the  fault  of  Benjamin,  of  course.  The  man  of  the 
yard  had  supplied  such  information  in  the  first  few 
moments  of  her  home-coming  that  she  had  imme- 
diately taken  it  for  granted,  as  Pendren  insisted  on 
going  that  very  night,  that  his  visit  was  becoming 
a  bore  to  him. 

Four  minutes  passed.  The  boots  absolutely  rip- 
pled in  lines  of  brightness.  Somebody  had  been 
using  the  polishing  paste  pretty  freely.  As  the  dark- 
ness crept  into  the  corner  of  the  room,  there  was 


i94  SAMARITAN  MARY 

no  mistaking  their  invitation.  They  almost  called 
to  him  to  pick  them  up  and  put  them  on.  But  he 
felt  himself  less  capable  of  pulling  them  on  than  of 
walking  the  distance  in  his  bare  feet.  But  some- 
thing had  to  be  done  and  done  at  once.  The  clink 
of  china  being  set  on  the  table  for  the  supper  made 
him  feel  his  position  the  more  keenly.  The  meal 
would  be  served  in  a  few  minutes.  Despite  the  fact 
that  he  had  insisted  that  he  would  not  even  wait  till 
Mary  returned  from  her  visit  to  Cora  Spinney, 
Mary  had  been  in  the  house  some  time  now,  and 
still  he  delayed. 

He  leaned  forward  to  pick  up  one  of  his  boots. 
The  clink  of  china  came  more  familiarly  than  ever. 
He  dropped  the  boot.  Surely  no  one  with  such  a 
generous  heart  as  was  in  Mary  Settler's  breast  could 
permit  him  to  go  on  his  journey  without  as  much  as 
a  mouthful  of  supper?  Usually  she  was  over- 
anxious that  he  should  be  well  fed.  Apparently 
now,  because  of  his  ungraciousness,  Mary  was  pre- 
pared to  ignore  his  existence. 

Pendren  wondered  if  Spring  would  remember 
him.  .  .  .  He  stooped  to  pick  up  the  boot  again. 
His  fingers  were  burning  and  he  tried  to  persuade 
himself  that  he  was  having  a  slight  fever  on  account 
of  rather  overdoing  his  strength  in  the  afternoon. 
But  he  kept  the  boot  in  his  hand  and  looked  into  the 
creeping  silent  night. 


SAMARITAN  MARY  195 

A  tramp,  unkempt  and  weary,  dragged  his  legs 
across  the  road.  The  man  was  making  for  the 
fields,  evidently  in  search  of  a  comfortable  straw 
barn  for  a  night's  lodgings. 

Pendren  watched  him  from  where  he  sat.  In 
the  mood  that  held  him  he  felt  little  better  than 
the  tramp.  He  was  crawling  mentally  along  the 
road  of  life  in  the  same  disappointed  way.  His 
hopes  of  happiness  lay  all  behind  him,  he  told  him- 
self dejectedly. 

Then  forgetting  his  languidness,  he  walked 
briskly  to  the  window,  adjusted  the  shade  so  that 
he  could  see  further  out,  and  watched  the  man,  who 
scattered  the  dust  as  he  slouched  along.  This  gave 
him  an  idea.  He  whistled,  a  short,  sharp,  distance 
hail,  and  the  tramp  turned.  Pendren  then  held  up 
the  boot,  signaling  to  the  tramp  to  come  to  him. 

Two  minutes  afterwards  both  boots  had  started 
on  a  fresh  track  under  the  arm  of  the  tramp,  and 
Pendren  looked  much  relieved,  although  certain 
lines  round  his  mouth  told  of  a  guilty  sense  of  mis- 
doing. 

He  turned  quickly  from  the  window  as  Mary 
Settler  entered  the  room  with  a  lamp  in  one  hand 
and  his  rubber  rain-proof  and  hat  in  the  other. 

"  Like  as  not  you'll  arrive  at  the  depot  time  to 
miss  a  good  square  meal,  Mr.  Pendren,"  she  said, 
putting  down  the  lamp  and  taking  good  care  not 


196  SAMARITAN  MARY 

to  observe  that  his  valise  lay  open  on  the  table, 
and  without  anything  having  been  packed  into  it. 
"  I  jes'  told  Spring  to  parcel  up  a  few  sandwiches. 
You'll  be  glad  of  them  when  the  dust  begins  to  get 
you  a  bit.  I  might  put  you  up  a  bottle  of  my  cider 
as  well.  This  express  notion  of  yours  don't  exactly 
fit  with  my  ideas  of  hospitality." 

She  looked  at  Pendren  out  of  two  soft,  warm 
eyes. 

"  It  does  seem  a  bit  of  a  .  .  .1  mean,  it  does 
seem  ungrateful  of  me  to  hustle  like  this,  and  you — 
tired  I  expect,  Mary,  with  so  many  things  on  your 
mind." 

It  was  all  he  could  manage  'just  then,  for  the 
kindness  of  her  heart  was  making  him  thoroughly 
ashamed  of  himself. 

"  Oh,  I  don't  mind  now  as  Cora  Spinney's 
through  with  a  fine  plump  baby.  I  set  Mark  down 
to  doing  some  of  the  chores  of  the  house  same  as 
I  would  Benjamin.  Tomorrow  I'll  go  along  jes'  to 
take  observations  like,  and  if  things  don't  look  kind 
of  promising  Mark  goes  out,  and  Hulky  Smith  goes 
in  and  takes  the  entrance  money." 

This  sudden  change  of  subject  allowed  the  young 
man  sufficient  time  to  recover  his  lost  ground.  He 
delayed  his  own  grievances  by  carrying  on  the  af- 
fairs of  the  neighbors. 

"  Do  you  mean  to  say  you  are  going  to  pay  a 


SAMARITAN  MARY  197 

man  to  do  the  work  on  his  own  land?  "  he  asked 
quickly. 

"  Dunno  that  I'll  be  doing  the  paying;  but  Mark 
won't  sit  tight  there  doing  common  house  chores 
unless  there's  something  in  it." 

"  And  the  money  .  .  .  who  is  standing  in  for 
that?" 

He  had  a  suspicion  that  Mary  herself  was  more 
than  charitable  in  this,  as  in  most  other  in- 
stances. 

"  Well  now,"  said  Mary,  giving  the  lamp  a  bit 
of  a  rub  with  her  apron.  "  Would  you  be  throwing 
a  somersault  if  I  was  to  give  you  the  direct  informa- 
tion that  Hek  Dean,  Cora's  own  father,  put  that 
money  up  this  very  day  out  of  consideration  of  the 
way  things  has  been  going  of  late?  Oh,  Hek's  a 
bundle  of  tracks,  pictures  and,  all,  mostly,  all  hand- 
ing out  of  nothing  but  hot  air  on  the  subject  of 
what's  right  in  his  estimation,  but  same  time  if  I 
can  get  him  to  hand  under  a  nice  easy  rub-down, 
he  comes  up  all  shiney  and  purrs  just  for  all  the 
world  like  Hannah-Ellen,  my  old  kitchen  cat.  Mind 
you  I  don't  say  I'm  not  distributer  and  collector  of 
that  cash;  and  it  all  goes  to  show  that  if  we  can 
turn  on  the  tap  to  the  main  channel  of  Hek's  bank- 
ing account  jest  occasional,  Cora  ain't  likely  to  suffer 
none  on  account  of  that  baby  and  Mark  out  of 
work." 


i98  SAMARITAN  MARY 

"  Mark  has  no  work  and  there's  a  baby?  "  Pen- 
dren  looked  really  concerned.  His  concern  gave  him 
time,  too,  to  reinstate  himself  in  Mary's  good  graces. 
For  the  first  time  in  his  life  he  blessed  Cora  Spinney 
for  being  the  woman  she  was.  He  could  spare 
quite  a  lot  of  interest  on  her  and  to  an  extent  it  was 
sincere. 

"If  it  wouldn't  be  presuming  too  far,  Mr.  Pen- 
dren,  and  you  not  in  a  big  hurry  tonight,  I'd  take 
it  mighty  kind  and  charitable  if  you'd  jest  run  that 
car  along  be  the  fence  of  Hek  Dean's  land,  and  ask 
him  to  step  up  and  see  Cora.  Hek's  got  to  be  kept 
moving  for  the  reasons  of  that  new  baby,  and  to 
stop  his  legs  goin'  stiff  with  rheumatics,  at  the  same 
time. 

"  I'll  jes'  send  Spring  in  with  those  sand- 
wiches ..." 

She  bustled  out  again,  and  young  Pendren  found 
himself  facing  the  open  valise  and  a  row  of  toilet 
things  which  he  had  not  noticed  till  the  lamp  came 
into  the  room.  Mary  had  arranged  these  things 
just  handy  for  him  to  pack  while  she  had  been 
dilating  on  the  affairs  of  her  neighbor  and  he  had 
not  noticed  what  she  was  doing. 

The  full  realization  of  what  he  had  to  do  now 
was  not  to  be  ignored.  Mary  expected  him  to  go, 
and  to  execute  a  commission  for  her  at  the  same 
time.  He  started  to  pack  the  bag,  but  the  idea  of 


SAMARITAN  MARY  199 

his  going  seemed  so  ludicrous  that  he  smiled.  Of 
course  he  wasn't  going.  How  could  he,  without  his 
boots?  He  looked  at  his  feet.  The  scarlet  leather 
of  his  bath  slippers  reassured  him.  Surely  Mary 
must  have  noticed  that  he  had  not  put  on  his  boots 
and  that  his  boots  were  not  there  to  put  on ! 

He  called  softly. 

"  Why,  Mary  ...  I  declare  if  those  wretched 
boots  haven't  disappeared  again." 

He  managed  to  keep  his  voice  pretty  even  and 
reasonably  sincere.  To  his  horror  and  complete 
amazement  Mary  Settler  replied  from  the  end  of  the 
house. 

"  Jes'  what  I  expected,  Mr.  Pendren,  sir;  but  as 
they  were  only  a  pair  as  Benjamin  had  by  him  many 
a  year,  bein'  unable  to  wear  'em  on  account  of  a  bad 
corn  he  was  rearing  at  the  same  time,  there  ain't 
no  cause  for  you  to  be  upsetting  your  mind  so  fear- 
ful. I'm  bringing  your  own  pair  in  under  ten  min- 
utes .  .  . "  (A  pause  while  the  woman  held  her  own 
breath  out  of  sheer  fright  that  she  might  show  her 
private  opinion  too  freely,  followed.)  "Ten  min- 
utes ..."  she  went  on  carefully,  "  or  maybe  half 
an  hour.  Dear  me,  it  will  take  me  more  than  a  day 
to  get  the  mud  off  them,  but  still  .  .  ." 

In  the  front  parlor  young  Pendren  carried  a  happy 
heart. 

"  More  than  a  day  to  get  the  mud  off  them,"  he 


200  SAMARITAN  MARY 

repeated.  "  More  than  a  day  ..."  The  mere  idea 
sent  him  down  the  passage  a  different  man. 

Spring  was  sewing  very  quietly  on  the  kitchen 
settee  and  her  eyes  came  slowly  to  his  as  he  passed 
through  the  door. 

"  More  than  a  day  ...  to  get  the  mud  off  them," 
Mary  repeated  from  somewhere  out  of  sight,  and 
he  heard  a  vigorous  brushing  of  boots. 

He  looked  at  Spring  and  sat  down  next  to  her  on 
the  little  settee. 

Mary  came  into  the  room  with  the  boots  on  her 
hands. 

"  I  guess  we'll  give  'em  that  time  to  soak  in  the 
cream,  Mr.  Pendren.  I  should  say  they'd  be  easier 
to  shine  by  tomorrow." 

"  By  .  .  .  tomorrow,"  said  the  young  man,  look- 
ing only  at  Spring. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

A  SHAFT  of  soft  moonlight  rode  like  a  blessing 
right  across  the  open  fields  and  laid  lingering,  tender 
hands  on  the  woman's  shoulders  as  she  passed  along. 
It  was  eight  o'clock  and  the  earth  and  its  creatures 
had  settled  down  into  the  calm  that  creeps  out  of  the 
unknown  as  the  weariness  of  a  day  passes. 

Mary  trod  silently  over  the  dusty  ground  and 
the  moonlight  on  her  black  cape  might  have  been 
pale  hands  embracing  her.  For  the  second  time 
that  day  she  was  visiting  Cora  and  the  new  baby, 
taking  Hek  Dean  as  an  incidental  of  the  journey. 
The  car  belonging  to  young  Pendren  still  remained 
like  a  lumbering,  heavy  monster  waiting  to  be 
stirred  to  life  in  the  yard,  and  when  Mary  passed  it 
she  gave  it  a  few  hand-pats  of  confidence. 

"  Not  that  I'd  be  thinkin'  I  got  any  right  to  try 
and  understand  the  works  of  such  a  mind  as  that 
Lancelot,  and  not  that  I'd  be  right  in  me  own  mind 
to  be  judging  such,  but  sure  he's  as  cunning  as  any 
I've  tried  to  dig  into.  What's  underneath  has  got 
to  come  up  and  the  sooner  the  better." 

She  crossed  her  own  cultivated  patch  of  land 
and  crawled  through  the  fence  into  Hek  Dean's 
fields. 

201 


202  SAMARITAN  MARY 

"  Reckoning  on  the  Graham  P.  business  being 
just  about  white  hot  now  for  stirring  so's  not  to 
burn  the  bottom  of  the  pan,  I  guess  it  was  about 
the  correctest  thing  to  leave  those  boots  lie  a  day 
under  the  poultice  of  cleaning  paste  I  give  them. 
Never  saw  such  a  mess  of  boots  before  ..."  She 
chuckled.  "  I'm  wonderin'  what  he  did  with  the 
other  pair,  the  ones  belonging  to  Benjamin  that  I 
unburied  in  a  mortal  hurry  earlier,  and  which  I 
knew  was  good  to  work  the  problem  in  his  mind 
to  a  finish?  Finish?  "  She  sighed.  "  If  this  night 
don't  settle  into  something,  and  that  something  be 
to  the  good  of  us  all,  counting  Spring  in  as  a  sort 
of  Queen  bee  to  lead  off  a  bit  .  .  .  then  I  give  it 
up." 

Her  musing  was  here  interrupted  by  coming  face 
to  face  with  Miss  Liz  Hetty,  who,  with  cloak  and 
bonnet,  was  preparing  to  leave  the  back  door  of 
Hek  Dean's  kitchen. 

Mary  and  Liz  had  never  had  what  one  might  call 
a  really  private  interview  since  their  ambitious  days. 
Miss  Hetty  had  acquired  a  sort  of  subtle  quiet 
when  alone  with  Mary  which  the  good  Samaritan 
always  welcomed  rather  than  blamed.  On  the  other 
hand,  Miss  Hetty  would  have  found  much  to  say  if 
Mary  Settler  had  chosen  the  silent  course. 

But  tonight,  for  the  first  time  in  years,  Liz 
Hetty  found  herself  leaving  an  open  field  to  her 


SAMARITAN  MARY  203 

neighbor,  that  open  field  being  Hek  Dean's  profita- 
ble graces  and  neatly  arranged  kitchen  and  living- 
room.  Therefore  she  clung  to  the  door  handle  of 
the  house  and  met  Mary  querulously  and  on  the  de- 
fensive. 

"  Seems  like,  Mary  Settler,  some  folks  ain't  got 
enough  to  do  at  home  with  ellergant  boarders  from 
the  city  and  a  kind  of  summer-girl  living  rich  and 
good  on  the  profits,"  she  said.  "  I  guess  you'll  be 
wearin'  out  your  body  before  it's  had  its  rightful 
time,  same  as  your  mother  did,  on'y  her  much 
younger  and  better  wearin'  than  yourself  when  she 
took  to  her  burial." 

Mary  nodded. 

;  'Tain't  everybody,  Liz;  as  remembers  my 
mother  same  as  you  do,"  she  remarked  easily.  "  It's 
mighty  kind  and  charitable  of  you  to  worrit  your- 
self over  me.  Times  I've  been  laid  in  me  bed  won- 
derin'  how  it  was  you  never  come  to  be  '  momma ' 
to  me  after  that  good  soul  passed  right  along  to  the 
best  place  picked  for  her." 

This  little  reference  to  a  difference  in  the  re- 
spective ages  of  the  two  women  had  its  effect. 
Mary  knew  in  her  own  mind  that  certain  things  had 
been  worrying  Liz  Hetty  for  a  matter  of  ten  to 
fifteen  years,  and  that  the  slowest  years  of  a  woman 
sometimes  are  those  that  come  after  forty.  She 
took  what  Mary  said  quite  quietly. 


204  SAMARITAN  MARY 

"  Folks  might  have  thought  so,"  she  said  care- 
fully, dropping  acid  into  her  speech,  "  when  I 
ketched  up  to  you  first  year  at  board  school  and 
Miss  Passey,  our  school  teacher,  havin'  it  against 
you  that  you  started  there  three  years  before  I  got 
the  chance." 

"  Sure  you  carried  enough  brains  about  with  you, 
Liz,  to  weight  you  to  home  without  as  much  as  a 
day's  learnin'  in  that  old  schoolhouse.  I  mind  the 
day  you  stopped  home  on  account  of  the  rain.  Miss 
Passey  was  mos'  terrible  upset.  She  wanted  you 
to  speak  up,  for  Deacon  Burdy,  and  none  of  us  with 
anything  ready.  She  was  mighty  keen  on  gettin' 
you  goin',  Liz,  no  matter  if  it  was  Deacon  Burdy, 
or  school  festival.  And  us  all  sittin'  there  with  not 
as  much  as  a  quarter  of  the  tongue  you  could  sup- 
ply .  .  .  sakes  alive,  I  remember  the  time  ..." 

The  gentle  grilling  of  Miss  Hetty  might  have 
gone  on  further  had  Mary  not  suddenly  remembered 
her  mission.  She  turned  to  walk  to  the  porch. 

"  Hek  ain't  to  home,  Mary." 

"  That's  likely,  Liz.  I  see  you  was  leaving 
prompt  this  evening." 

A  slight  flush  ran  over  Miss  Hetty's  withered 
cheeks. 

"  Maybe  he's  gone  up  to  Cora  already  ? "  in- 
quired Mary. 

"  Maybe,  Mary.    Maybe  not." 


SAMARITAN  MARY  205 

Liz  Hetty  went  down  the  path  to  the  little  white 
gate  and  Mary  turned  the  handle  of  the  door.  It 
refused  to  open.  She  looked  about  for  the  key. 

"  Like  as  not  Liz  has  it  in  her  pocket  an'  will  keep 
it  there  till  she  thinks  Hek's  time  to  return  home 
will  be  kind  of  drawing  close.  Well — it's  no  kind 
of  a  day,  or  night,  when  Mary  Settler  had  to  climb 
in  through  a  winder  because  she  wanted  to  wait 
somebody's  return  to  have  a  word  in  season,  but 
still  .  .  .  sure  as  I'm  seven  years  the  junior  of 
Miss  Elizabeth  Hetty,  I  can  do  it  if  it's  necessary." 

But  neither  window  nor  door  would  give  to  her 
fingers.  Miss  Hetty  had  turned  the  house  into 
darkness  for  some  reason  or  other,  not  yet  plain 
to  Mary,  but  she  sat  down  wearily  on  the  porch 
looking  into  the  moonlight,  and  there  she  waited. 
Time  never  had  proved  so  profitable.  She  was  de- 
termined to  see  Hek  alone  and  to  do  so  she  must 
wait  his  return,  even  if  he  brought  back  Miss  Hetty 
with  him  to  open  the  door.  It  did  not  worry  her 
...  it  was  an  opportunity  to  think  and  to  work 
out  the  various  parts  of  the  several  domestic  tan- 
gles growing  like  a  web  before  her.  She  looked 
back  towards  where  her  little  cabin  of  a  house  lay 
in  the  light. 

"  First  of  all  ...  those  babies  in  my  kitchen," 
she  said,  and  mentally  turned  the  leaves  of  her  day 
ledger. 


206  SAMARITAN  MARY 

The  kitchen  settee  was  not  really  wide  enough 
for  even  a  small  girl  and  a  man  quite  so  tall  as 
young  Pendren.  That  is,  not  if  there  is  stitching 
to  be  done,  and  a  good  arm's  length  of  cotton  to 
be  considered.  Spring  wore  a  face  as  glowing  as 
a  summer  rose,  and  Pendren  reclining  just  behind 
her  shoulder,  had  been  telling  her  so  many  exciting 
things  about  New  York  and  his  sister  that  an  un- 
expected warmth  rushed  all  over  her  tender  young 
body.  She  positively  burned  with  happiness. 

"  You  were  so  right,  Spring,  about  it  being  love 
all  through.  Of  course  it  could  never  be  the  proper 
kind  of  stuff  if  it  had  any  flaws  in  it.  It  would 
be  cheap  at  that  .  .  .  and  that  is  why  I  want  you 
to  trust  me." 

Spring  looked  over  her  shoulder;  but  his  face 
was  so  close  to  her  ear  that  she  could  not  keep  her 
eyes  in  that  direction. 

"  Is  it  Benjamin  you  are  talking  of  ?  "  she  asked. 
"  Or  someone  much  nearer  yourself  ?  " 

He  smiled,  she  was  so  simple  and  sincere. 

"  I  wasn't  speaking  of  Benjamin  at  all."  Pen- 
dren took  a  deep  breath. 

"  Of  course  it  was  someone  much  nearer  myself. 
Someone  quite — quite  close.  .  .  ." 

"  A  relation  in  New  York?  " 

"  Not  exactly,  though  my  sister  may  be  consid- 
ered in  it  as  well.  You  see  she  is  older  than  I  am 


SAMARITAN  MARY  207 

and  usually  takes  me  in  hand.  Before  I  can  make 
things  quite  plain  to  you,  Spring,  there  is  ... 
something  to  be  considered.  All  that  has  got  to  be 
unraveled  and  this  business  of  the  firm's — the  affair 
with  Blessing.  Listen  to  me,  Spring,  will  you 
promise  me  to  stay  with  Mary  till  I'm  through  with 
it;  not  to  move  as  much  as  a  foot  to  take  work 
or  anything  like  that  ?  I'm  bound  to  get  this  beastly 
thing  through  in  a  day  or  so  after  I  locate  the  people 
I'm  looking  for." 

"  And  when  will  you  do  that  ?  " 

"  Oh,  possibly  in  a  week !  I  can't  use  my  wrist 
on  the  car  for  a  time,  but  I'm  going  to  hunt  round 
for  a  man  to  drive,  and  I'll  get  through  very  soon. 
Then  .  .  .  my  sister  and  New  York  .  .  .  New  York 
for  both  of  us  and  .  .  . " 

Here  Spring  could  hold  the  needle  no  longer. 
She  drove  it  through  the  material  and  left  it  there. 

"  Mr.  Pendren,"  the  voice  and  eyes  were  a  child's. 
"  Would  mother  be  in  it,  too?  " 

"  Why,  yes  .  .  .  and  Prue  and  Elsa  and  Christine 
and  that  cuddley  baby." 

She  folded  her  hands  in  a  way  that  suggested  a 
little  silent  prayer,  and  young  Pendren,  sitting  there 
so  close,  just  touched  her  lightly  round  the  waist. 

"  Spring  Glory,"  he  said,  smiling,  "  you  are  the 
most  perfect  thing  that  I've  ever  known.  If  I  could 
let  my  tongue  go  now  ..." 


208  SAMARITAN  MARY 

"  But  it  isn't  only  Spring  Glory,"  said  the  girl, 
raising  herself  and  turning  so  as  to  face  him  di- 
rectly. "  It  is  not  only  Spring  Glory." 

"  Hush,"  he  said,  "  you  can  confess  when  I  do. 
There  are  so  many  things  I've  got  to  get  right  now 
before  we  can  start  plans  for  home  that  I  don't 
want  you  to  say  a  word.  Not  a  little  word !  Just 
go  on  being  you  a  little  longer.  I  prefer  you  as 
Spring  Glory  until  I  have  the  right  to  ...  to  ... 
know  you  as  something  else." 

There  was  a  fine  light  in  his  face  as  he  said  this, 
and  Spring  picked  up  her  sewing  again.  Presently 
he  took  a  wooden  chair  at  the  table  and  picked 
up  a  piece  of  paper  and  a  pencil  and  tried  to 
write. 

Spring  put  down  her  work. 

"  Why  didn't  you  tell  me  you  wanted  to  write, 
and  let  me  do  it  ?  "  she  said.  "  It's  ever  so  much 
more  interesting  than  the  sewing." 

But  Pendren  went  on  practicing  to  write  with 
his  left  hand. 

"  I  must  learn,"  he  said. 

In  Mary's  mind  his  case  was  undergoing  a  thor- 
ough investigation  meantime.  She  put  it  to  herself 
in  this  way. 

"  For  all  the  world  like  givin'  the  place  a  proper 
clean-out  once  in  a  while.  Down  comes  the  pic- 


SAMARITAN  MARY  209 

tures  and  ornaments  off  the  bureau  and  up  goes  the 
broom.  My,  but  it's  wonderful  what  you  can  raise 
out  of  the  dust  behind  them  ornaments,  even 
counting  in  the  once-a-day  cleanin',  never  missed  by 
any  kind  of  a  mistake.  Sometimes  out  of  the  dust 
you  can  sort  up  all  kinds  of  trouble  that's  got  blown 
there  when  you've  left  the  winder  shades  too  free, 
and  sometimes  it's  unexpected  things  comes  out  of 
that  same  cleanings,  and  you're  sort  of  surprised 
and  gladsome  that  you  undertook  the  thorough  turn- 
out." 

Her  eyes  wandered  again  across  the  fields  to 
where  two  golden  eyes,  the  windows  of  her  own 
house,  glowed  in  the  misty  darkness. 

"  Now  Lancelot  and  my  girl  Spring  come  in  on 
that  list  of  cleaning,  same  way.  By  leaving  them 
alone  tonight  makes  it  the  precise  moment  when 
unexpected  things  is  going  to  come  down  in  the 
dust.  The  winders  have  been  open  free  to  the 
light  and  fresh  air  ever  since  they  met  up  in  the 
garden  patch,  and  him  wearing  enough  of  it  on  his 
bath  slippers  to  convince  me  that  the  *  mountain 
had  gone  to  Mahomet,'  as  the  sayin'  is.  Well 
.  .  .  what's  been  hiding  away  behind  the  things  in 
Spring's  and  that  young  man's  mind  has  got  to 
come  down  now.  It's  a  clean  sweep,  and  I'll  be 
collecting  some  most  interesting  things  in  my  dust- 
pan presently.  I  guess  it  will  need  the  sifter  to 


210  SAMARITAN  MARY 

root  out  the  precious  bits  of  information  I'm  com- 
ing across  if  there's  much  in  the  Roper,  Graham  P. 
business — but-  that  might  have  more  of  a  blessing 
in  it  than  we've  reckoned  on." 

As  she  surmised  this  Hek  Dean  came  wandering, 
dragging  one  leg,  towards  the  back  porch.  He  saw 
Mary  and  signified  it  by  a  nod;  then  he  took  his 
place  on  the  step  beside  her  without  a  word. 

For  a  time  there  was  nothing  said;  then  the  old 
man  rolled  some  tobacco  leaves  in  his  thin,  knotted 
hands. 

"  Minds  me  of  the  time  we  climbed  Paradise 
Hill,  Mary,"  he  said,  curiously  indifferent  to  the 
fact  that  the  woman  might  have  been  waiting  there 
an  hour  or  more.  "  You  mind  that  time  .  .  .  your 
mother  was  mad  as  a  hen  off  her  setting  of  eggs 
because  we  stopped  out  a  bit  longer  than  we  had 
ought  to.  I  mind  there  was  two  winders  in  John- 
son's house  all  lit  by  a  banner  lamp,  that  kep'  up 
a  winkin'  at  us,  and  us  taking  as  much  notice  as 
we  ...  might  be  doing  now.  There  was  nothing 
to  freeze  us  home  them  days,  Mary." 

Mary  replied  with  her  eyes  still  set  towards  her 
own  place. 

"  The  rheumatism  hadn't  worked  up  so  familiar 
then,  Hek,"  she  said. 

The  old  man  smoked  silently  for  a  few  minutes, 
then  he  said  crisply : 


SAMARITAN  MARY  211 

"  There  was  worse  things  than  rheumatism  then, 
Mary.  There  was  wimen's  tongues  ..." 

"  Same  as  this  very  present  time,  Hek,"  Mary 
interrupted. 

"  Yes,"  he  answered.  "  I  was  forgetting  Liz 
Hetty." 

"  You've  no  cause  to  forget  Liz,  or  anything 
she's  done  charitable  for  you  lately,  Hek.  Doing 
what  she's  doing  at  this  time  of  life  for  you  goes 
in  as  part  of  things,  just  as  much  as  climbing  Para- 
dise Hill  when  .  .  .  when  we  were  thicker  of  blood 
and  more  easy  roused." 

"  'Tain't  likely,  Mary,  I'm  forgetting  what  Liz 
does  here  be  the  day,  or  the  night,  for  that  matter, 
now  that  she  takes  to  coming  back  to  put  the  poul- 
tice on  me  chest  for  the  pneumonia  she's  scared 
I'd  be  getting.  What's  a  poultice  anyway,  if  it 
comes  regular  as  a  man's  pipe  once  of  an  evening? 
Only  difference  is  that  I  enjoys  the  pipe  and  I  can't 
say  as  how  I  likes  the  poultice  quite  the  same.  Liz 
has  a  hefty  way  with  her.  She  might  be  stacking 
hot  bricks  on  me  chest,  way  she  drops  that  linseed 
plaster  and  shifts  it  about." 

"  It  ain't  depressed  you  any,  Hek,  all  the  same," 
said  Mary,  still  watching  the  windows  of  her  own 
little  cabin  across  the  dark  fields.  "  And  you  ain't 
got  the  pneumonia,  nor  cold,  nor  anything  ram- 
pageous in  your  lungs  since  Liz  took  to  doping  you. 


212  SAMARITAN  MARY 

Some  folks  would  go  down  on  their  knees  to  Liz 
Hetty  for  half  as  much." 

"  I  wouldn't  mind  jest  about  half  as  much,  but 
Liz's  plaster's  twice  the  size  an  ordinary  cow  would 
kick  at." 

"  Cows  is  cows,  and  men  is  men,"  said  Mary. 
"  I  never  put  much  on  the  fact  of  treating  them 
same  way.  Liz  knows  what's  she's  doing." 

"  Sure  she  does.  She's  got  the  key  of  that  door 
in  her  pocket  now,  so's  I  can't — can't  get  in  without 
her  knowing,  and  so's  I'm  not  to  excape  the  plas- 
ter." He  breathed  deeply  and  went  on  smoking. 

In  the  interval  Mary  turned  her  mind  to  the 
reason  of  her  visit. 

"  Did  you  see  Cora?  " 

"  Yep,"  shortly  from  Hek. 

"  And  the  baby  ?  It's  as  like  you,  Hek,  as  ... 
as  your  two  hands  is  like  each  other." 

Hek  turned  suspicious  eyes  towards  her;  but  she 
had  never  taken  hers  from  the  windows  across  the 
field. 

"  You'll  allow  there's  a  chain  or  two's  difference 
in  our  ages,  I  s'pose,  Mary."  Roused  somewhat, 
he  let  himself  go  very  near  being  sarcastic. 

"  I  dunno  that  there's  as  much  as  a  chain  or  two, 
Hek.  I  never  found  a  man  different  to  a  baby  in 
misunderstanding  himself  in  the  whole  course  of 
my  life  yet.  When  a  woman  marries  she  thinks 


SAMARITAN  MARY  213 

she's  got  what  they  calls  a  husband;  well,  if  she 
only  calc'lated  on  it  beforehand,  and  understood 
jes'  what  she  was  going  to  undertake,  she  would 
find  she  was  starting  her  family  right  then,  with  a 
very  big  trial  that  had  to  be  fed  and  watered  same 
as  anything  else,  of  a  different  name." 

Mary  stood  up  on  the  step.  Miss  Elizabeth 
Hetty  was  coming  along  the  sidewalk  and  things 
were  likely  to  be  taking  a  fresh  turn. 

Hek  stood  up,  too,  and  there  was  that  in  his  face 
could  not  be  kept  out  any  longer. 

"  You  got  a  mighty  funny  way  of  forgetting  to 
hang  that  key  behind  the  water  barrel,  Liz,"  he 
said. 

"  The  water  barrel  ain't  exactly  the  place,  Hek, 
to  leave  the  key  when  there's  tramps  about,  and 
folks  who  come  in  and  out  as  if  the  place  belonged' 
particular  to  them."  She  threw  one  sharp  glance 
at  Mary  and  opened  the  door  with  the  key. 

"  By  a  lot  of  ways  I'm  agreeing  with  you,  Liz," 
said  the  good  Samaritan  quietly,  "  but  it's  over  late 
to  keep  a  man  of  Hek's  years  out  in  the  cold,  glued 
to  his  own  porch  same  as  a  cockroach  waiting  its 
proper  turn  to  get  to  something  better.  You'll  be 
needing  to  give  him  an  extra  dose  of  the  linseed 
and  mustard  before  you  goes  home  tonight." 

She  went  down  towards  the  little  white  gate  and 
through.  All  this  time  she  had  scarcely  lost  sight 


2i4  SAMARITAN  MARY 

of  her  own  windows  which  faced  the  porch,  and 
crossing  the  fields  she  kept  them  before  her  all  the 
way. 

Presently  she  noticed  something  different  in  the 
glowing  eyes  of  the  lamplight  in  her  house.  It  was 
a  silhouette,  distinctly  outlined  in  the  square  in  the 
kitchen  wall.  Young  Pendren  had  finished  his  let- 
ter, carefully  written  with  his  left  hand,  and  some- 
thing had  relieved  his  mind  to  the  extent  of  making 
him  do  the  thing  which  had  been  in  thought  so 
long.  He  crossed  the  kitchen  to  where  Spring  sat 
stitching  her  little  muslin  frock.  Mary  saw  him 
stoop  and  raise  the  girl  to  her  feet.  His  arms  went 
round  her  and  she  submitted  to  his  tender  kiss  for 
the  first  time  in  her  life.  Something  seemed  to 
snap  in  the  good  woman's  head  as  she  watched  the 
picture. 

"  It's  all  the  same,"  she  said,  standing  there  in 
the  patch  of  stubble  oi.  the  garden,  "  it's  all  the 
same  if  it's  kisses  or  poultices  .  .  .  there's  the 
heart  of  the  mother  behind  it  all." 

She  wandered  on.  "  Blessings  have  come  down 
in  the  dust  same  as  other  things,"  she  said  as  she 
scraped  her  feet  on  the  door-iron. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

WHEN  Pendren  rose  deliberately  from  his  chair 
and  left  his  letter  on  the  table,  Spring  looked  sur- 
prised; but  when  he  took  hold  of  her  as  if  she  had 
never  grown  up  at  all,  and  was  just  an  armful  of 
something  soft  and  lovable,  she  did  not  wonder 
any  more.  He  had  so  often  held  her  wrists,  or 
her  hands,  or  her  shoulders,  and  this  complete  em- 
brace seemed  only  in  keeping;  but  ever  so  much 
more  tender  and  to  her  own  taste,  than  any  ex- 
cited, hasty  handling. 

The  young  man  started  talking  right  away  as  if 
he  had  just  been  putting  some  of  it  down  in  his 
home  letter. 

"  I  asked  you  just  now  to  trust  me,  Spring,  and 
to  remain  here — not  to  move  a  foot  from  Mary's 
house  till  .  .  .  till  I  arranged  to  take  you  away." 
He  kissed  her  red,  warm  lips  and  something  ran 
into  the  girl's  blood  that  had  never  been  there 
before. 

The  change  sliowed  in  Her  face. 

"  Do  you  know  ...  I  don't  think  that  I  should 
have  done  that  But  you  looked  so  ...  so  abso- 

215 


ai6  SAMARITAN  MARY 

lutely  eatable.  Spring,  I  feel  as  if  I  would  kill  any 
man  who  has  as  little  right  over  you  as  I  have  if 
...  if  I'd  seen  him  do  a  thing  like  that." 

But  Spring  was  just  looking  at  him,  and  the 
flame  in  her  eyes  and  on  her  cheeks  was  not  chiding 
at  all. 

"  There  you  are !  Fm  about  as  ^inconsistent  as 
a  summer  breeze.  I  don't  go  to  the  point  right 
away,  and  I'm  a  long  time  getting  there  at  all. 
But  you  see  ...  dear,  I  can't  explain  myself  until 
.  .  .  until  I  get  an  answer  to  that  letter  over  there. 
You'll  try  and  believe  and  wait,  won't  you, 
Spring?" 

The  simplicity  that  is  in  every  man  when  love 
invests  his  soul  was  springing  into  his  eyes  and 
beating  in  his  heart.  Its  pulses  made  him  feel  as 
young  in  the  world  as  the  girl  was. 

"Do  you  mean,  believe  that  you  are  good?" 
asked  Spring. 

He  touched  her  again  gently,  but  her  lips  were 
sacredly  reverenced. 

"  Believe  that  I  love  you,  Spring.  Anything  else 
at  present  doesn't  matter.  Oh,  my  dear,  there  is 
ever  so  much  to  tell  you !  Ever  so  much  to  be  ham- 
mered out  and  put  right!  When  this  rotten  busi- 
ness of  the  firm's  is  fixed,  and  .  .  .  and  the 
other  ..." 

"  Something  troublesome,  is  it  ?  " 


SAMARITAN  MARY  217 

"  Something  that  is  but  a  temporary  obstacle, 
dear,  in  ...  in  our  future  together." 

"  You  mean  in  New  York  ?  " 

"  Yes,  in  New  York  and  .   .   .  other  places." 

"  Is  it  here — the  obstacle?  " 

Slowly  he  answered.  "  No,  it  is  not  here,  thank 
Heaven." 

Spring  put  out  her  hand.  "  Do  you  know  you 
seem  to  be  in  as  much  trouble  as  our  family  ?  " 

"  I  believe  I  am,"  he  replied,  half  smiling.  "  Only 
that  there  is  only  me  in  it,  now.  You  see,  if  I 
didn't  get  through  it  all,  safely,  there  would  be  you 
and  Prue  and  Christine  and  Elsa  and  that  cuddley 
baby  and  the  most  precious  mother  all  in  it,  too. 
I  want  to  avoid  that,  and  so  if  you  stand  by  and 
believe  in  me,  dear,  and  wait  .  .  .  oh,  there  might 
be  ever  so  much  waiting,  because,  you  see  ..." 

The  sudden  noise  of  feet  being  scraped  on  the 
door-iron  stopped  him.  He  put  up  a  finger.  "  Re- 
member, even  Mary  must  not  be  told  a  word  of 
what  I  have  been  saying." 

"  You  mean  .   .   .  about  ..." 

"  About  .  .  .  well,  about  my  loving  you,  Spring. 
It's  got  to  be  a  secret  until  all  this  business  is  set- 
tled. You  see,  it  might  so  turn  out  that  I  ...  I 
could  never  marry  you,  Spring." 

He  got  no  further,  for  Mary  was  at  the  door, 
looking  in.  From  her  appearance  and  her  de- 


218  SAMARITAN  MARY 

meaner  no  one  would  have  imagined  that  she  had 
heard  anything,  but  those  last  words  of  his  were 
sticking  in  her  heart,  as  hard  and  fast  as  if  they 
were  knives  driven  there. 

"  When  you  are  up  against  the  band,"  she  said 
mentally,  "  an'  the  music  some  excitin',  it's  small 
blame  if  your  constitution  does  get  up  and  shake 
itself." 

However,  she  made  a  few  remarks  while  hanging 
up  her  cape  and  bonnet,  and  turned  to  the  two  quite 
easily. 

"  Hek's  encouraging  a  chill  or  pneumonia  some 
by  allowin'  Liz  Hetty  her  own  way  with  his  back 
door  key.  Seems  like  them  patent  winder  catches 
might  be  useful,  after  all.  You  can't  lock  'em  up 
any  more'n  you  can  unlock  'em,  so  there's  safety 
in  bein'  unable  to  break  into  your  own  house  at 
nights  more  often  than  not.  Miss  Hetty  now  ..." 

But  the  silence  with  which  the  two  received  this 
gave  her  a  hint  that  she  was  talking  too  widely  for 
the  present  situation. 

Spring  was  simmering  under  the  young  man's 
last  words,  and  she  wanted  more  than  anything 
to  ask  him  what  he  meant  by  them.  Marrying  him 
had  never  suggested  itself  to  her  even  when  he  had 
confessed  to  loving  her.  Everybody  loved  her,  ex- 
cept her  Aunt  Susannah,  she  thought;  and  even  she 
might  have  if  she  had  been  a  dutiful  niece  and  had 


SAMARITAN  MARY  219 

not  broken  the  things  on  the  whatnot  when  she  went 
to  stay  with  Aunt  Susannah. 

Pendren  was  lost  to  find  out  what  he  wanted  to 
do  first.  There  on  the  table  was  a  letter  addressed 
to  somebody  whose  existence  had  never  been  men- 
tioned by  him,  whose  significance  in  his  life  had 
not  entered  into  his  thoughts  for  the  last  month  or 
two.  The  address  was  showing  as  clearly  as  the 
kitchen  lamp  on  the  table  would  permit,  and  what 
was  more,  because  of  his  infirmity,  he  had  printed 
it  largely  with  his  left  hand. 

Mary  was  not  looking  at  the  letter;  but  Pendren 
felt  uncertain  about  everything  connected  with  his 
visit  in  its  presence.  He  began  to  take  the  place 
of  a  thorough  blackguard  in  his  own  opinion,  for 
having  told  the  girl  of  his  love.  But  no  accusations 
came  from  Mary,  who  sat  down  and  leaned  on  the 
table  without  seeming  so  much  to  glimpse  at  the 
letter. 

"  You'll  be  turning  that  auto  on  pretty  free  to 
running  away  in  the  morning,  Mr.  Pendren,  sir,  I 
suppose,"  she  said.  "  Spring  will  be  wanting  a  ride 
as  far  as  the  turn  of  the  road;  but  no  further. 
Autos  are  dangerous  and  unrighteous  things  to  sit 
in,  'cept  you're  able  to  do  it  upside  down  occasion- 
ally when  the  time  comes  for  the  reverse  engines 
business.  Say,  Spring,  if  it  don't  give  you  the  hint 
to  strike  a  trail  for  your  bed  this  very  minute,  then 


220  SAMARITAN  MARY 

I'll  have  to  carry  you  there  meself,  and  I'm  mortal 
weary  and  upset  about  .  .  .  Hek  and  Cora,  jest  at 
present." 

Spring  folded  her  sewing  slowly,  although  she 
had  done  it  before,  but  she  fidgeted  and  pricked  her 
fingers,  and  finally  went  over  to  Pendren  almost  as 
if  he  had  called  her  to  him. 

"  Good  night,"  she  said.  "  I  won't  be  going  in 
the  car.  I'll — I'll  be  helping  Mary  .  .  .  and  ..." 

She  wondered  if  he  would  kiss  her  again,  and 
stood  there,  almost  waiting  for  him  to.  There 
would  have  been  no  blush  of  shame  or  modesty  if  he 
had  stooped  and  touched  her  lips.  In  fact  she  ex- 
pected him  to  do  it;  but  as  he  stared  at  her,  almost 
strangely,  she  thought  that  the  kiss  must  have  been 
part  of  the  secret,  and  the  mistake  she  had  made 
showed  gradually  in  her  cheeks,  which  paled 
slightly. 

"  And  making  ready  for  that  nice-looking  job 
I'm  preparing  for  you,  Spring,  lovey,"  the  good 
woman  finished  for  her.  "  You'll  be  seeing  Mr. 
Pendren  in  the  morning  to  say  good-by,  so  jest  you 
go  to  bed  comfortable  in  your  mind  about  any 
benefits  he  might  have  had  in  his  mind  over  New 
York  and  fatting  you  up  like  a  Thanksgivin'  turkey. 
It's  good-by  in  the  morning,  an'  you  can  sleep  to- 
night jest  as  usual.  I  guess  we  will  both  be  kind 
of  sorry  .  .  .  but  so  will  Miss  Hetty  for  locking 


SAMARITAN  MARY  221 

Hek  Dean  out  of  his  rightful  place.  Life  is  much 
the  same  everywhere,  here,  or  next  door,  or  in 
New  York.  You  get  me,  Spring?" 

But  the  girl  did  not  understand.  She  passed 
dreamily  out  of  the  kitchen  and  along  to  her  room. 

"  Now  if  you'll  jest  take  a  corner  of  that  settee 
same  as  when  Spring  was  setting  there  a  while  ago, 
Mr.  Pendren,  sir,  we'll  come  to  business  right 
away." 

Mary  watched  till  he  sat  down  wearily,  then  she 
went  express  to  the  point. 

"  You've  been  kind  of  pulling  a  string  on  that 
baby  till  you've  got  her  almost  tied  to  strangula- 
tion. You  needn't  jump  on  the  settee  as  if  I  was 
throwing  fire-rockets  about.  I  don't  blame  you 
none,  Mr.  Pendren.  Spring's  as  fine  a  girl  as  will 
ever  go  to  the  pickin's  of  an  uncommon,  high-level 
woman.  But  all  the  same,  we  don't  want  her,  as 
I  said  before,  pushed  into  something  that  don't  suit 
her,  nor  what  she  don't  understand,  any  more  than 
we  want  her  on  exhibition  for  things  as  is  not  in 
stock  like  they  advertise  in  the  papers,  and  never 
has  behind  the  counter.  Say,  Mr.  Pendren,  what 
sort  of  a  kind  of  a  friend  are  you  to  Spring?  That's 
my  job  from  this  minute.  I  want  to  get  on  to  the 
tail-board  of  the  cart  that  goes  to  the  proper  depot, 
and  I  don't  mean  to  upset  that  cart  none  because 
I  may  seem  overanxious  to  get  to  the  truth  in  a 


222  SAMARITAN  MARY 

hurry.  No,  sir,  you're  driving  that  same  cart, 
which  is  only  a  matter  of  fake,  after  all,  an'  I  take 
it  you  must  be  driving  somewhere  and  expectin'  me 
to  f oiler;  as  it's  Spring  being  carted  into  the  special 
abode.  Where's  this  fairy  palace  in  New  York, 
and  what's  it  all  mean,  anyhow  ?  Is  it  straight  cut, 
or  an  extra  shuffle,  and  quite  a  couple  of  cards 
under  the  table,  nobody  knows  anything  about? 
I'm  handing  you  out  my  honest  opinions,  sir,  and  I 
want  yours  in  return." 

All  this  time  Pendren  was  staring  at  the  letter 
on  the  table  and  Mary  had  not  lifted  her  eyes  from 
his  face.  With  an  easiness  born  of  experiences  in 
the  business  life  of  a  great  city  and  its  daily  exi- 
gencies, he  crossed  the  room  and  picked  up  the 
letter.  "  You  are  quite  right  to  ask  me  that,  Mary," 
he  said  with  a  masculine  attempt  to  cover  any  con- 
fusion there  might  be  in  his  breast.  "  Spring  is, 
as  you  say,  an  uncommonly  fine  girl,  and  .  .  .  and 
if  it's  to  be  New  York  for  her  .  .  .  well,  we'll  all 
drive  there  presently." 

He  smiled  at  Mary  and  used  her  own  simile  to 
dispel  anxiety. 

"  All  drive  there  .  .  .  meanin'  me  on  top  of  the 
cart,  same  as  yourselves  ?  " 

"  Why,  sure !  Spring  will  need  careful  han- 
dling. And  she  will  need  someone  she  loves  to  be 
with  her.  I  would  never  dream,  either,  of  separat- 


SAMARITAN  MARY  223 

ing  you,  Mary.  She  has  grown  into  your  heart, 
I  can  see,  as  she  has  grown  into  .  .  .  into  .  .  ." 

He  found  himself  getting  out  of  his  depth  again. 
The  letter  in  his  hand  idly  pressed  against  his  side, 
reminded  him  of  what  he  should  not  say.  He 
balked,  swallowed  the  rest  of  his  words,  and  let  the 
good  woman  finish  for  him. 

"  As  she  has  grown  into  yours,  Mr.  Pendren, 
sir.  Now  I'm  not  blaming  that.  Anyone  who  could 
resist  Spring  half  an  hour  after  seeing  her,  and 
hearing  her  talk  in  the  quaint  way  she's  got,  would 
have  to  be  cast  in  clean  steel." 

Mary  rose  from  the  table. 

"  There's  things  in  this  dope  I  can't  understand, 
Mr.  Pendren.  I  can't  swaller  any  more  till  you've 
set  certain  things  right  in  it.  Now  I'm  not  asking 
you,  but  I've  got  something  to  tell  you.  Did  that 
baby  ever  give  you  her  right  name  ?  " 

"  No,  and  for  the  reason  that  I  forbade  it.  Mary, 
I  want  to  play  fair,  and  until  I  can " 

Mary  threw  up  her  hands.  "  Sakes  alive,"  she 
queried,  with  something  of  pain  in  her  eyes,  "  is  it 
a  double  deal  and  both  of  you  with  cards  on  the 
floor?  Look  here,  Mr.  Pendren,  sir,  it's  all  on  ac- 
count of  that  dear,  sweet,  precious  woman  as  is 
mother  to  Spring  that  she  and  me  has  been  keeping 
back  her  really  and  truly  name.  This  is  precisely 
the  corner  of  the  road,  sir,  where  we  stops  dead  as 


224  SAMARITAN  MARY 

a  shot  rabbit  and  finds  ourselves  never  so  much 
alive  in  the  whole  course  of  our  lives.  My!  when 
Spring  opened  out  the  Glory  part  of  her  name  clean 
on  to  you  like  an  electric  spot-lamp  comin'  sudden 
and  a  bit  too  familiar  into  your  face,  and  you  ex- 
pecting nothing  more  than  an  ordinary  buggy  lamp, 
well,  I  says  to  myself,  Spring  has  got  her  own  rea- 
sons, and  after  a  bit  I  says  to  myself  that  it  works 
as  good  as  a  door  catch  to  keep  out  anything  that 
hasn't  yet  been  handed  out  an  entrance  ticket;  but 
now  that  I  steps  into  the  thing  with  two  feet  scraped 
clean  of  the  mud  and  the  road  dirt,  and  you  tell 
me  that  you  haven't  been  playing  fair  ...  I'm 
clean  to  frazzles.  Mary  Settler,  sir,  is  a  remnant, 
with  a  bargain-sale  card  clean  tacked  on  to  her  from 
this  time  forward.  I'm  down  from  the  two-and-a- 
half -dollar  table  to  the  five-and-twenty-cents.  My 
experience  is  cheap,  sir;  human  nature  isn't  my  line 
at  all.  .  .  .  Dear  Lord,  but  it  makes  me  feel  I'm 
to  blame,  sir  ...  yes,  to  blame,  for  as  sure  as 
you're  born  I've  been  sticking  Spring  up  in  your 
face,  same  as  if  she  was  something  you  been  hunt- 
ing for  and  was  mighty  particular  about  the  finding 
of.  I  been  ..." 

Perspiration  and  tears  were  streaming  down  her 
face  and  she  stopped  to  wipe  it  with  her  sleeve. 

"  You  want  to  be  fair,  you  say,  Mr.  Pendren  ? 
That's  precisely  my  case.  Spring  isn't  above  the 


SAMARITAN  MARY  225 

age  to  play  tricks  on  a  fellow  when  he's  acting  fool- 
games  like  you  were  on,  that  time  she  sets  in  the 
hammock  trying  to  look  as  lively  as  any  grown-up, 
but  me  ...  Mary  Settler,  don't  sit  looking  on  any 
longer  than  it  takes  for  her  to  get  a  terrible  un- 
pleasant slap  to  jump  clean  out  of  her  seat  and 
speak  her  mind.  I've  brought  all  this  upon  you, 
Mr.  Pendren,  sir;  I've  made  an  uncommon  heap  of 
leaving  a  syrup  tart  in  the  oven  when  it's  scarcely 
out  of  the  dough  stage,  and  me  hammering  my 
tongue  something  frightful  to  get  Spring  to  desert 
you  and  leave  you  without  any  real  knowledge  of 
the  case.  Oh,  I've  schemed  and  trapped  you,  Mr. 
Pendren,  sir,  and  here  you  want  to  get  up  and  say 
'  you  want  to  play  fair,'  as  if  it  was  you  to  blame  all 
the  time.  No,  sir,  Mary  Settler  has  clean  knocked 
the  tack  out  of  the  wall  and  brought  down  the 
imitation  sword  of  Dam — somebody  or  other,  and 
it's  all  my  fault  from  the  start !  " 

Here  young  Pendren  tried  to  get  a  word  in.  He 
did  not  understand  what  she  was  referring  to.  The 
good  woman  was  humbling  herself  so  that  he  felt 
almost  certain  she  had  seen  the  letter  on  the  table. 

"  But  I  have  not  played  fair  ...  I  mean  I  can't 
play  fair  to  Spring  until — until  I  get  certain  things 
fixed,"  he  stammered  out. 

"  And  that's  precisely  our  case  again,  Mr.  Pen- 
dren, sir,"  said  Mary.  "  There's  Clara  Hopkins  in 


226  SAMARITAN  MARY 

it,  too,  and  Spring,  who's  only  a  baby  same  as  her 
mother  is,  and  we  been  .  .  .  just  as  you  put  it  ... 
unable  to  play  fair  till  we  got  certain  things  fixed. 
Now  this  is  the  turn  of  the  road,  sir,  just  where  it 
says,  '  Keep  to  the  right,'  or  '  Go  slow,  there's  rocks 
ahead/  or  something  mortal  uncomfortable  like 
that,  sir,  and  I  guess  we  better  see  what's  round  the 
corner  before  we  go  an  inch  further.  Now, 
Spring " 

"  One  minute !  "  Pendren  stayed  her.  "  The 
business  that  is  keeping  me  from  playing  a  straight 
game  with  Spring  can  be  settled  and  done  with 
under  two  weeks,  I  hope.  Will  you  allow  things  to 
remain  as  they  are  until  then?  I  shall  have  run 
through  to  Ladybird,  if  that  is  the  name  of  the 
place  where  these  Roper  people  are,  and  by  that 
time  I  have  an  answer  to  the  letter  I  wrote  tonight, 
I  can  then  go  to  Spring  and — and  ..." 

Mary  was  holding  her  face  as  if  it  would  drop 
off. 

"  Seems  like  as  if  I  was  jes'  goin'  to  put  me 
feet  into  something  mighty  hot  be  the  look  of  it, 
but  cold  as  ice  water  to  those  whose  experiences  are 
better  than  mine  are,"  she  cried  distressfully. 
"  Now,  as  you're  going  to  give  me  a  chance  again, 
sir,  to  trust  you,  sure  I'm  going  to  do  it,  and  all 
I  ask  is  that  you'll  do  the  same  by  me." 

"  What  ?    Trust  you,  Mary  ?  " 


SAMARITAN  MARY  227 

"  Jest  as  far  as  Ladybird,  Mr.  Pendren,  sir.  I 
got  another  scheme,  which  won't  be  so  far  out  in 
setting  things  right,  from  our  side,  within  a  matter 
of  twenty-four  hours.  Sakes,  I'll  never  sleep  easy 
in  me  mind  till  that  twenty-four  hours  is  over." 

Pendren  smiled.  "If  your  side  is  right,  then  per- 
haps mine  may  be  righting  itself  a  bit,  except  that — 
that  letter  .  .  .  has  to  be  posted  and  I  must  receive 
an  answer." 

Mary  waved  a  finger  at  him. 

"  Leave  that  letter  be,  and  let  us  get  the  can- 
opener  on  to  the  very  best  idea  I  ever  had.  Mr. 
Pendren,  sir,  take  Spring  alongside  of  you  to  Lady- 
bird; she  knows  that  part  of  the  country  like  she 
knows  her  mother.  Take  Spring,  sir,  just  for  luck 
to  your  winning  the  case." 

There  was  something  so  twinkling  in  Mary's  eyes 
as  she  said  this  that  Pendren  thought  he  was  losing 
some  special  point  to  her. 

"  You  can  drop  her  at  her  own  mother's  place 
when  she's  given  you  direction,  and  you're  keen  on 
turning  on  the  Graham  P.  affair  that's  upsetting  all 
your  pa's  money  bags.  The  run  would  please 
Spring  and  clean  elevate  things  before  you  get 
started  because — if  the  day  don't  turn  out  good 
that  girl  will  give  you  the  sunshine  in  her  heart." 

"If  the  day  don't  turn  out  good,  Mary?  You 
mean  ?  " 


228  SAMARITAN  MARY 

"  There's  days,  and  days,  Mr.  Pendren.  It 
might  just  happen  that  Spring  and  your  day  might 
be  proved  by  your  losing  your  case." 

"  I'm  going  to  win  my  case,"  said  the  young 
man,  with  rising  color.  "  I  can  bluff  all  I  know  on 
to  that  Roper  crowd,  but  it  is  something  else  that 
is  worrying  me.  Something  at  home  in  New 
York " 

Mary  began  to  straighten  up  the  kitchen. 

"  Get  your  letter  to  the  post,  sir,  and  just  when 
you  are  ready  to  set  out  for  Ladybird,  Spring  will 
be  going  home  to  her  ma.  You  can  drop  her  jest 
where  she  tells  you,  and  no  surprises,  if  you  don't 
find  out  the  rest  of  your  way." 

"  Yes,"  said  Pendren,  leaving  the  kitchen.  "  I 
think  the  very  first  thing  will  be  for  me  to  mail 
that  letter." 


CHAPTER  XX 

"  LOOKS  like  as  if  things  had  got  a  wrong  twist, 
and  wasn't  goin'  to  work  nearly  as  well  as  we 
thought,  Mary,"  said  Clara  Hopkins,  coming  right 
into  the  kitchen  late  the  next  afternoon. 

Mary,  who  was  turning  out  a  pantry  off  the 
kitchen,  put  her  head  round  the  door. 

"  Set  down,  Clara ;  some  things  works  better  with 
a  twist  than  with  otherwise.  Minds  me  of  the  clock 
I  had  once.  Nothing  you  could  do  under  earth  or 
heaven  would  start  it  workin'  proper.  Then  we 
turns  it  upside  down.  Well,  from  that  day  onward 
we  got  the  correct  time,  and  had  to  pretty  nigh 
stand  on  our  finger  nails  to  do  it.  If  you  stood  that 
clock  up  as  much  as  a  second  on  to  its  feet  there 
was  a  pull  up  with  a  regular  street-car  grind,  but 
if  you  left  her  misplaced  on  her  head,  which  was 
her  alarm  signal,  ordinary  hours,  she  went  through 
her  turn  regular  as  something  paid  to  do  it.  Now 
things  here  is  pretty  much  like  that.  I've  got  Spring 
and  that  Q.  L.  P.  away  in  the  auto  which  is  as 
much  of  a  twist  on  things  as  that  old  crazy  clock. 

"  If  I'd  done  what  was  usual,  I  suppose  I'd  have 
kept  Spring  behind,  seeing  that  it  was  against  com- 

229 


230  SAMARITAN  MARY 

mon  ordinary  sense  to  let  her  go  as  far  as  the  gate 
even  with  the  discovery  I  made  last  night.  Oh,  yes, 
Clara,  I've  in  mind  that  old  clock  .  .  .  why,  folks 
wouldn't  believe  me  when  I  told  them  that  she 
works  her  inside,  upside  down.  .  .  .  Well,  this 
Graham  P.  business  has  as  much  chance  as  that 
clock  had,  and  is  likely  to  work  out  something 
useful  if  we  let  it  have  its  own  way,  even  topsy- 
turvy ways  as  the  case  looks  like  now." 

"  Well,  I  don't  agree  with  you,  Mary.  Why,  I 
seen  it  myself !  " 

"Seen  what?" 

"  I  seen  it  in  Benjamin's  hand." 

"  Has  Benjamin  been  stopping  up  your  place  this 
morning,  then  ?  I  dunno  what  you  could  see  in  his 
hand  other  than  a  few  cracks  of  the  yard  dirt  he 
hadn't  time  to  get  rid  of,  me  being  out  of  the 
common  yeller  soap  and  no  time  to  think  about  it. 
P'r'aps  you  been  making  palmistry  lines  and  look- 
ing into  the  future  jes'  by  him  opening  his  hands 
for  you.  That's  a  thing  I  never  could  abide. 
Providence  don't  see  fit  to  put  us  up  to  points  like 
that,  though  they  will  try  and  convince  you  that 
half  a  dollar  scraped  in  the  palm  of  your  hand  is 
as  good  as  looking  into  a  kind  of  goldfish  bowl  and 
making  fancy  pictures  outter  nothing  jes'  to  try  and 
keep  that  half-dollar.  What  you  saw  in  Benja- 
min's hand  must  be  like  that  old  clock,  gain  ..." 


SAMARITAN  MARY  231 

"  I  seen  the  letter,  Mary.  The  letter  Mr.  Pen- 
dren  give  him  to  mail." 

"  An'  that's  something  to  go  on  with,"  answered 
Mary,  returning  to  her  shelves. 

"  It's  more  to  go  on  with  than  we  reckoned  on, 
Mary.  Did  you  see  who  it  was  written  to?" 

Mary  answered  from  her  work  behind  the  pantry 
door. 

"  I  didn't  happen,  Clara,  to  come  that  close  to 
Benjamin  so  as  to  be  able  to  interpret  things  he 
held  in  his  hand.  What  was  on  the  letter  ?  " 

"  It  was  addressed  to  Mrs.  Lancelot  Pendren. 
Land,  Mary,  you  mind  the  day  we  made  a  list  of 
his  things?  Four  pair  of  silk  socks?  'Course  we 
might  have  known  why  ?  " 

"Why?"  Mary's  voice  came  easily  from  the 
shelves. 

"  Why  ?  'Cos  when  a  man's  away  from  his  home 
and  wife,  he  don't  stop  to  darn  his  socks.  That's 
why  he  carries  four  pair  and  the  ones  he  had  on 
him.  I'd  have  thought,  Mary,  that  you  would  have 
picked  out  that  information  long  ago.  I  mus'  admit 
to  having  my  suspects  ever  so  long." 

Mary  came  out  of  the  pantry  carrying  an  armful 
of  miscellaneous  boxes. 

"  Clara,  you're  for  all  the  world  like  the  things 
behind  my  closet  door.  Got  to  be  taken  clean  out 
to  the  yard  and  have  the  dust  shaken  off  them  be- 


232  SAMARITAN  MARY 

fore  we  can  get  the  contents  of  the  boxes  into  our 
hands !  Now  what's  under  all  this  you  are  choking 
over?  Suppose  that  letter  was  addressed  to  Mrs. 
Lancelot  Pendren,  I  didn't  have  need  to  side-track 
Benjamin  to  see  what  he  carried  to  the  post,  for 
that  young  man  standing  here  last  night  was  as 
good  as  telling  me  things  without  opening  his 
mouth.  What  if  it  was  addressed  to  Mrs.  Lancelot 
Pendren ! " 

"  Sakes  alive,  Mary  .  .  .  did  it  never  hit  you 
that  she  would  be  his  wife?  " 

"  You  mean  Spring,  Clara  ?  I'm  stacking  my 
chips  for  that  all  along." 

Clara  beat  her  hands  together. 

"  Not  Spring.  How  could  she,  with  him  writing 
letters  to  Mrs.  Lancelot  Pendren?" 

"  'Course  she  could,  Clara.  I've  known  cases 
more  likely  than  that.  Now  you  wouldn't  have 
thought  that  old  clock  could  go  on  telling  the  truth 
standing  on  her  head,  but  she  did  .  .  .  so  in  the  case 
of  Spring  and  Q.  L.  P.  There's  more  in  the  workin' 
of  the  whole  thing  than  we  could  ever  understand. 
Look  here,  Clara  " — she  came  forward  and  stood 
with  the  dust  on  her  face  and  the  fighting  spirit  in 
her  eyes,  "  we're  only  two  very  ordinary,  common 
sparrow  kinder  people.  Folks  would  pass  us  by 
and  never  know  we  got  anything  out  of  the  usual 
to  themselves,  and  us  all  the  time  raking  about  for 


SAMARITAN  MARY  233 

information  about  what  really  don't  concern  us  at 
all  ...  but  at  the  same  time  we  are  only  ordinary 
sparrow  kind  of  people,  you  and  I,  and  we  can't 
see  deep  enough  into  things  because  of  that. 

"  Now,  when  I  turned  that  clock  upside  down, 
and  it  started  going  right  away,  it  was  only  a 
try-on — a  fluke — and  so's  this  case  of  Spring.  I've 
clean  turned  things  topsy-turvy  on  purpose  to  see 
just  what  might  happen  presently.  If  I'd  done 
what  was  perfectly  right  by  that  old  clock  I  should 
have  scrapped  it  to  a  hawker  at  the  door  for  old 
iron,  or  something,  and  same  with  Spring.  If  I'd 
done  what  would  have  been  perfectly  correct  ac- 
cording to  opinions,  I  should  have  tossed  Q.  L.  P. 
out  on  his  neck  into  the  middle  of  the  next  street 
and  shut  Spring  up  in  my  pantry  here,  but  I 
didn't.  I  turned  things  upside  down,  I  tell  you, 
and  I'm  trusting  in  Providence  to  set  the  works 
going  good  and  proper." 

"  But  the  letter  to  his  wife?  " 

"  I  haven't  calc'lated,  Clara,  on  it  being  to  his 
wife  at  all.  Same  way  as  I  never  calc'lated  on  that 
old  clock  doing  one  thing  out  of  the  ordinary. 
Leave  it  be,  Clara;  things  may  appear  upside  down 
and  contrariwise  now,  but  they'll  be  right-side  up 
presently.  Why,  did  you  never  take  a  peep  under 
the  back-cloth  of  a  photographer's  picture  camera? 
Everything  is  bottom  end  up,  and  yet  the  very 


234  SAMARITAN  MARY 

things  being  photographed  sitting  as  straight  and 
proper  as  you  and  me  at  this  moment.  You'd 
swear  the  lady  being  taken  was  not  altogether  in 
her  right  mind,  Clara,  to  be  posing  there  with  her 
feet,  so  to  speak,  in  the  air  and  the  roof  under 
where  her  toes  ought  to  be,  but  .  .  .  it's  quite  all 
right,  and  she's  sitting  ordinary,  and  like  any  Chris- 
tian, when  you  look  over  the  camera  and  see  for 
yourself." 

Clara  took  out  her  tatting.  She  was  busy  these 
days,  and  always  brought  a  little  sewing  or  hand 
embroidery  along  to  work  on  as  she  talked. 

"  Well,  I  suppose  there  is  something  in  that, 
Mary,"  she  admitted,  "  though  you  won't  be  ex- 
actly sweating  up  things  till  you  know,  about  our 
fitting  Spring  for  her  visit  to  New  York." 

"  Indeed  I'll  be  up  at  Jake  Heldy's  store  to- 
morrow if  it's  a  fine  day,  just  looking  round  like, 
case  there's  a  roll  marked  twenty  below  cost  and 
kind  of  suitable  to  underclothes  for  Spring." 

"  And  I  guess  you'll  be  taking  another  loan  on 
the  property  from  Hek  same  as  you  did  lately  to 
recompense  that  wooden-headed  Mark  Spinney  and 
Cora.  Everybody  knows  Hek  didn't  pay  that 
money  because  there  was  a  baby  comin'  into  the 
world,  Mary." 

"  It's  certain  sure  he  didn't  pay  it  then,  Clara, 
because  that  same  baby  and  his  own  flesh  and  blood 


SAMARITAN  MARY  235 

was  no  consideration  to  him  at  all.  Hek's  that 
pleased  he  went  right  along  to  Cora  and  stopped 
a  spell.  It  wasn't  borrowin'  the  money  at  all,  I 
promise  you.  It  was  jest  as  good  as  a  christening 
cup  to  the  new  baby,  though  Hek  wouldn't  like 
you  to  be  mentioning  it.  You  see  he's  ruled  these 
days  by  the  love  and  influence  of  Liz  Hetty,  and 
perhaps  that  done  it,  or  the  way  she  treats  him 
makes  him  soft-like  .  .  ." 

"  Liz  Hetty  never  made  anybody  soft-like  in  her 
life.  She'd  make  a  tiger  spring  the  wrong  way  to 
get  out  of  sight  of  her,  rather  than  anything  else !  " 

"  Well,  Hek  don't  take  no  springing  job  lately, 
and  her  looking  his  way  pretty  often  in  the  day.  I 
don't  mind  sayin',  Clara,  that  Hek  is  this  very  min- 
ute lying  in  bed  with  a  linseed  and  mustard  poultice 
on  his  chest  for  pneumonia,  and  Miss  Hetty  as 
scared  as  anything  it  might  turn  to  both  lungs 
'stead  of  one." 

"  She'll  be  marryin'  Hek  presently  when  he's 
least  aware  of  it,  Mary,  if  somebody  don't  step  up 
and  save  him  in  time." 

"Save  him?  Mercy,  Clara,  save  a  man  from 
being  looked  after  by  a  proper  loving  wife?  " 

"  Tisn't  love  at  all,  Mary.  I  know  all  about 
that." 

Mary  caught  her  eye.  "  Then  I'm  not  arguing 
anything,  Clara.  You  got  experience  perhaps  I 


236  SAMARITAN  MARY 

missed.  Though  I  dunno.  .  .  .  When  I  went 
through  my  turn  years  ago  it  was  kind  of  topsy- 
turvy also,  like  the  old  clock.  But  no  matter  how 
I  worked  it,  there  was  no  regular  ticking  inside." 

She  carried  the  boxes,  well  dusted,  into  the  pan- 
try again. 

"  If  it  was  real  love,  Mary,  it  didn't  stop  work- 
ing all  the  same." 

Clara  bent  to  her  tatting  and  talked  slowly  and 
deliberately.  She  knew  that  Mary's  eyes  had  gone 
from  her  face. 

"  I  suppose  so,  Clara,"  came  slowly  from  the 
pantry. 

"  If  a  woman  .  .  .  keeps  true,  Mary,  no  matter 
how  long,  or  how  hard  it's  been,  he's  sure  to  come 
back  to  her,  somehow  or  other,  even  if  it's  in  the 
grave." 

A  short  period  of  silence  reigned  in  the  kitchen, 
then  Mary  climbed  down  from  the  shelves.  She 
spoke  from  the  pantry  floor,  where  she  waited,  al- 
though there  was  nothing  more  to  be  done  in  there. 

"  From  the  grave,  Clara  .  .  .  yes,  I  suppose  so ; 
but  if  it's  .  .  .  another  woman?" 

"  It's  all  the  same  ...  if  it's  love." 

After  this  Mary  bustled  about  the  kitchen  and 
Clara  said  no  more.  Something  of  the  sandpaper 
surface  of  her  nature  had  been  smoothed  to  an 
evenness  which  almost  made  her  gentle  of  voice. 


SAMARITAN  MARY  237 

Benjamin  had  that  morning  remained  in  her 
kitchen  without  shuffling  and  awkwardly  raising  the 
dust,  and  what  was  more,  he  had  talked  like  a  man 
to  her.  A  man  .  .  .  she  was  aching  and  longing 
to  tell  Mary  some  of  the  things  he  had  said. 

She  began  presently. 

"  Mary,  I  was  jest  thinking.  Benjamin  .  .  . 
Benjamin's  'most  like  that — that  old  clock  of 
yours." 

"  'Specks  he  is !  "  from  Mary,  as  she  wiped  down 
the  table  and  put  the  cloth  on  for  supper. 

"  He  says  outright  to  me  today,  Mary,  that  I  got 
a  right  to  marry  him  and  no  one  to  blame  if  I  don't." 

"  Eh  ?  Benjamin's  getting  over  free,  Clara,  but 
I  suppose  it's  his  way." 

"  Yes  .  .  .  and  I  was  thinking  what  you  said 
of  the  clock,  Mary.  It's  all  topsy-turvy,  that's  what 
love  is.  I'm  years  over  Benjamin  and  more  like 
to  be  his  mother  than  .  .  .  than  his  wife." 

"  Meaning  he'll  chance  a  turning  upside  down 
and  a  thorough  good  hard  spanking  when  things 
don't  go  right,  Clara.  Land,  if  that's  Benjamin's 
idea  of  matrimony,  it's  the  surest  case  of  love." 

"  I'm  sure  I  dunno  which  way  to  take  him,"  said 
Clara,  putting  up  her  work.  Mary  came  forward 
and  touched  her  on  the  shoulder. 

"  Take  him  .  .  .  anyway,  Clara,  upside  down,  or 
right  side  up.  You'll  find  it  will  work  just  as  well." 


CHAPTER  XXI 

THE  car  was  running  gently  down  the  long  road. 
Pendren  was  finding  things  awkward  with  his  bad 
wrist  and  trying  to  manage  as  best  he  could  by 
giving  the  bulk  of  the  work  to  his  good  hand. 

Spring  sat  next  to  him  with  her  fingers  clasped 
round  a  prodigious  bundle  Mary  had  intrusted  to 
her  care.  In  the  bundle  were  gifts  ranging  from 
fresh  eggs  to  gayly-colored  hair  ribbons  and  sashes, 
from  Mary  to  the  family. 

As  the  car  swung  sharply  into  a  length  of 
road  not  so  uneven  as  that  previously  crossed, 
young  Pendren  looked  into  Spring's  face. 

"  And  all  the  time,"  he  said  quietly,  "  I  am  won- 
dering why  Mary  let  you  come." 

"  But  I  had  to  go  home  somehow,"  said  Spring. 
"  I'm  ever  so  delighted  to  be  here  with  you.  I  like 
the  car  because,  though  it  is  jolty  every  now  and 
then,  it  isn't  nearly  so  dangerous  as  Jerry  Grab's 
horse  and  cart.  It  had  a  temper  of  its  own  and 
no  mistake !  " 

Pendren  smiled. 

"  Same  here,"  he  said.  "  I  never  can  trust  this 
machine  to  go  well  just  when  I  want  it  to.  That's 

238 


SAMARITAN  MARY  239 

why  I'm  wondering  why  Mary  let  you  come.  You 
see,  if  we  had  a  breakdown  now,  you'd  have  to 
tramp  a  long  way  on  foot  to  the  railway,  or  else 
put  up  with  me  under  the  hedge  there  till  somebody 
passed  this  way." 

He  was  joking  because  it  pleased  him  to  try  her. 

"If  the  moon  came  out  and  it  wasn't  chilly  it 
wouldn't  be  so  fearfully  bad,"  Spring  said  simply. 
"  I've  always  loved  looking  at  the  moon,  and  it 
would  be  ever  so  much  better  with  you." 

She  was  looking  directly  at  him  when  she  said 
this,  and  the  sincerity  of  her  whole  nature  made 
him  creep  cold  for  an  instant.  He  leaned  forward 
till  his  lips  nearly  touched  hers,  but  a  twinge  of 
conscience  made  him  spring  back  and  adjust  the 
levers  of  the  machine  as  an  excuse  for  not  having 
kissed  her.  Mary's  words  of  the  previous  night 
were  rustling  about  in  his  ears.  "  If  you  are  going 
to  give  me  a  chance  to  trust  you,  Mr.  Pendren, 
I'm  going  to  do  it  .  .  .  and  I  ask  you  to  do  the 
same  by  us." 

He  thought  of  the  letter  written  to  New  York, 
which  he  knew  would  create  a  sudden  storm,  and 
perhaps  deluge  this  girl  and  her  little  life  with  sor- 
row. He  had  not  intended  that  that  should  happen 
when  he  had  expressed  his  love  for  her. 

As  he  spun  the  car  along  he  knew  how  much  he 
wanted  her  love  and  her  purity  of  mind  and  soul. 


240  SAMARITAN  MARY 

He  knew  too  that  the  business  that  was  troubling 
him  in  New  York  was  a  matter  of  getting  rid  of 
a  certain  tie  which  seemed  almost  to  be  choking 
him  now.  He  had  no  more  right  to  think  of  offer- 
ing Spring  any  part  in  his  life  than  he  had  to  think 
of  claiming  a  part  in  hers,  because  she  had  poured 
out  some  of  her  soul  to  him.  But  all  the  time  he  was 
aching  .  .  .  longing  to  know  the  state  of  her 
heart,  and  if  she  would  wake  up  from  her  childish- 
ness at  his  touch  and  return  in  full  measure  the 
ardent  feelings  he  carried  in  his  own  soul  ? 

Again  he  took  a  hurried  look  at  her. 

"  Spring  Glory,"  he  said  lightly.  She  seemed  to 
be  dreaming  again,  but  his  words  awakened  her 
quickly. 

"  Shall  I  tell  you  the  rest  now,  or  shall  we  wait 
till  you  see  mother?  " 

"  We  will  wait,"  he  said,  and  became  very  serious. 
"  Tell  me,"  he  continued,  as  they  directed  the  car 
into  another  corrugated  country  road,  "  tell  me,  do 
you  know  Bird  Town  well?  " 

"  Oh,  yes,  we  know  nearly  all  the  people  there. 
You  see,  father  ..." 

She  stopped.  Mary  had  particularly  reminded 
her  in  leaving  that  it  would  be  as  well  if  she  said 
nothing  of  her  family  affairs  at  all  until  her  mother 
had  met  the  young  man.  She  remembered  this  now 
and  closed  her  lips. 


SAMARITAN  MARY  241 

"  Do  you  mind,"  she  said  presently,  as  he  was 
still  looking  at  her,  " .  .  .  if  I  don't  say  any  more 
just  now?  Mother  can  tell  you  all  about  every- 
thing. You  see,  I  generally  put  things  all  out  of 
place.  Once  I  told  somebody  that  my  Aunt  Su- 
sannah was  only  twenty-seven  because  I  thought  I 
heard  her  saying  she  was,  but  mother  told  me  after- 
wards that  it  was  my  mistake,  and  that  Aunt  Su- 
sannah wasn't  referring  to  her  age  at  all.  I  was 
quite  certain  I  had  heard  her  rightly,  but  mother 
seemed  to  know  just  as  well;  besides  .  .  .  Aunt 
Susannah  was  quite  fifty  or  sixty  at  the  time.  I 
have  had  to  be  ever  so  careful  of  what  I  say, 
since  ..." 

Pendren  opened  the  throttle  of  the  car  a  little 
more  and  let  it  out  for  a  long-distance  run.  Spring's 
cheeks  reddened  in  the  glorious  rippling  wind,  and 
her  eyes  took  into  them  glowing  points  that  might 
have  been  fear  or  expectation.  Pendren  gripped 
the  steering-wheel,  although  he  wanted  to  pull  up 
and  take  her  into  his  arms  then  and  there. 

His  mind  veered  to  the  purpose  of  this  drive. 
Since  Spring  had  written  that  letter  to  his  father 
for  him  concerning  the  business  which  had  brought 
him  to  this  part  of  the  country,  he  had  not  been  able 
to  discuss  the  subject  with  her.  She  had  almost 
chided  him  when  he  had  explained  to  Mary  and  to 
her  something  of  the  nature  of  that  business,  and 


242  SAMARITAN  MARY 

her  words :  "  You  ought  to  give  them  what  is  theirs 
without  a  fight !  "  stuck  in  his  mind.  He  was  not 
nearly  so  keen  on  wrestling  with  the  affair  as  he 
had  been.  These  last  few  weeks  with  such 
women  as  Mary  and  Spring  had  completely  altered 
him.  If  this  crowd  called  Roper  were  only  women, 
whom  it  would  be  easy  to  bluff  or  bribe,  he  did  not 
quite  know  that  it  would  be  playing  the  game  to  do 
it.  So  he  let  the  matter  drop  and  resolved  not  to 
mention  it  to  Spring  again. 

When  they  were  starting  out,  Mary  had  said  to 
him: 

"  Spring  will  be  as  good  as  a  finger-board  to  you, 
Mr.  Pendren,  once  you  touch  Bird  Town,  or  Lady- 
bird, where  her  mother  lives.  You  follow  her  di- 
rections and  you'll  see  she'll  not  send  you  wrong." 

He  had  no  idea  of  the  double  meaning  in  Mary's 
words,  and  she  had  chanced  Spring's  not  revealing 
her  real  name  during  the  run  to  the  district. 

The  car  purred  gently  where  the  roads  were  level 
and  well-made.  Rows  of  raspberry  bushes  and 
young  fruit  trees  on  the  farms  nearby  opened  and 
closed  like  a  huge  fan  as  the  two  in  the  car  passed 
them.  Objects  came  rapidly  into  view  at  the  top 
of  the  hill,  flashed  alongside,  and  then  fell  behind 
them  like  things  shown  on  a  sheet.  The  air  whis- 
tled and  whined  in  the  girl's  ears  and  the  car  swung 
a  little  to  right  or  to  left,  almost  jumping  obstacles. 


SAMARITAN  MARY  243 

Pendren  did  not  dare  look  at  Spring  again.  His 
heart  was  beating  violently  and  his  pulses  were  like 
the  things  whistling  past.  Almost  heedlessly  he  in- 
creased the  speed  a  little  and  they  went  spinning 
at  a  greater  rate  than  ever  down  the  long  open 
road.  Spring  had  never  before  felt  herself  being  so 
rapidly  rushed  through  space. 

The  car  was  going  at  three,  four,  or  five  times 
the  speed  that  Jerry  Grab's  horse  had  gone  after  it 
had  lost  all  sense  of  direction  and  restraints. 
Spring  thought  of  that  now,  but  no  fear  entered 
her  mind.  Of  course  the  pace  made  the  car  a  little 
too  bumpy  to  be  quite  comfortable,  but  then  the 
road  was  hardly  fit  for  a  town  car.  When  she  was 
lifted  bodily  towards  the  side  of  the  seat  where  the 
young  man  was  adjusting  levers  and  working  the 
wheel  this  way  and  that,  she  apologized  for  nearly 
knocking  his  cap  off.  But  he  did  not  seem  to  hear 
her;  his  teeth  were  set  into  his  lip  and  his  face  was 
wrung  with  pain. 

When  the  car  tipped  awkwardly  and  struck  a 
stubble-edged  corner  of  the  next  road,  Pendren  was 
thrown  against  her.  Her  right  ear  came  in  contact 
with  his  collar  so  suddenly  and  harshly  that  she 
felt  the  edge  of  it  almost  cut  into  the  flesh.  The 
car  righted  itself,  but  no  word  was  spoken.  Pen- 
dren did  not  even  apologize  for  the  jolt.  Before 
them  another  long-distance  road  was  opening  out 


244  SAMARITAN  MARY 

and  disclosing  ragged  edges  of  country  on  either 
side. 

Spring  stole  a  side  glance  at  Pendren.  He  was 
frowning  and  working  as  if  he  were  trying  to  get 
even  greater  speed  out  of  the  machine.  But  as  a 
matter  of  fact  he  was  doing  nothing  of  the  sort. 
He  had  for  the  moment  lost  control  of  the  car, 
and  the  stiffness  of  the  levers  which  had  been 
repaired  in  the  period  of  his  recovery  from  the 
accident  refused  to  give  to  his  persuasion.  He  man- 
aged to  fret  himself  into  a  fever  of  wrath  at  the 
obstinacy  of  the  gear  and  the  weakness  of  his  wrist. 
The  long  road  was  empty  and  safe  enough,  for- 
tunately, and  he  reckoned  on  being  able  to  get  his 
machinery  well  in  hand  before  any  dangerous  turns 
or  sidings  hove  in  sight. 

"  Thank  God — she  does  not  understand,"  he  said 
mentally.  "  If  it  had  been  my  sister  or  .  .  ." 
The  difference  in  the  town  and  country  woman  gave 
him  a  sudden  breath  of  relief.  Without  looking 
at  Spring,  he  spoke. 

"Enjoying  .  .  .  it?"  he  questioned  as  if  there 
was  nothing  wrong. 

"  It  .  .  .  it's  .  .  .  like  .  .  .  being  beaten  up  ... 
in  a  bowl  .  .  .  or  a  cup,  like  ...  an  egg,"  said 
Spring,  and  laughed  in  the  full  breeze  of  whistling 
air. 

"  Good  Lord  .       . "     Pendren  did  not  feel  like 


SAMARITAN  MARY  245 

smiling,  but  the  knowledge  that  she  was  absolutely 
unafraid  reassured  him. 

Again  he  wrestled  with  his  gear,  and  the  car 
rushed  along  and  shook  itself,  and  danced  over  the 
road  very  like  an  impetuous  lady  who  would  not 
stop  her  merry  ways.  But  the  end  of  the  third  long 
road  was  coming  into  view.  Pendren  could  not 
see  what  lay  beyond  it,  so  he  called  to  Spring 
again. 

"  Are  we  anywhere  near  Bird  Town?  " 

Spring  gripped  the  seat  to  prevent  herself  going 
right  into  his  lap  as  she  replied. 

"  We  passed  it  half  an  hour  ago !  At  least  it 
looked  like  Bird  Town,  but  we  went  so  quickly,  and 
it  wasn't  through  the  principal  street.  Oh,  yes,  that 
is  old  Mary  Blind's  farm  over  the  rise  there.  We 
must  be  very  near  Ladybird  Farm.  Oh,  there's 
the  Willow  Bend,  and  soon  we  shall  see  the  .  .  . 
river." 

She  was  so  elated  at  the  idea  that  they  were  near 
the  fields  and  farms  she  was  familiar  with  that  she 
almost  stood  up  in  the  car,  but  Pendren,  who  had 
not  yet  got  control  of  the  levers,  shouted  to  her  to 
sit  down. 

"  What  .  .  .  's  that  ?  Something  about  a  bend 
and  a  ...  river.  Where  ?  Good  God !  " 

Spring  took  another  side  look  at  him. 

"  You  will  have  to  stop  near  the  first  field  and 


246  SAMARITAN  MARY 

we  will  take  the  panel  out.  You  see  the  river.  .  .  . 
Oh,  it  isn't  much  of  a  river  .  .  .  but  we  all  call  it 
the  river  because  we  are  so  proud  of  having  it  run 
through  our  field.  It  is  only  a  cutting,  really,  with 
very  little  water  in  it  at  any  time  of  the  year,  but 
still  ..." 

The  young  man  with  the  fear  in  his  eyes  heard 
this  and  interrupted  her  roughly. 

"  Only  a  cutting.  .  .  .  Do  you  mean  .  .  .  it  is  a 
precipice?  Because  this  car,  .  .  .  Spring  ..." 
He  put  his  nearest  arm  right  round  her  suddenly. 
"  We've  got  to  jump  unless  I  can  move  this  under 
five  minutes.  Less  than  that!  How  far  is  the 
river  ...  or  cutting?  Is  there  a  turning  in  these 
endless  fences.  Quick !  " 

Scarcely  understanding,  the  girl  pointed  ahead. 

"  The  cutting  runs  right  across  this  road  at  the 
foot  there.  There  is  a  slope  before  you  come  to 
it  and  one  up  the  other  side.  We  could  dash  right 
across  if  the  water  was  low,  but  I  have  forgotten 
exactly  how  much  water  there  was  a  few  weeks 
ago." 

"  A  slope — you  mean  we  can't  get  over  the  edge. 
We  can  run  down  and  across  if  the  water  is  low. 
Spring,  we  have  got  to  chance  it.  I'll  hold  you, 
dear,  and  we  will  pray  that  there  may  be — water 
in  it.  Great  Heavens !  " 

Before  he  had  finished  speaking,  the  road  showed 


SAMARITAN  MARY  247 

in  a  long  decline  that  sloped  gradually  into  the  cut- 
ting and  ended  there  in  a  high  bank  on  the  other 
side.  The  car  would  stop  either  in  the  middle  of 
the  cutting  or  dash  right  into  the  bank  opposite. 
As  yet  Pendren  could  not  see — and  again  he  prayed 
that  there  might  be  sufficient  water  to  break  the 
force  of  the  crash  that  was  impending. 

Down  the  slope  the  car  went,  doubling  her  speed. 
He  moved  the  wheel  over  to  turn  the  machine  along 
the  bed  of  the  cutting.  With  a  ripping,  tearing  noise 
of  falling  stones  and  earth  the  car  swung  round  and 
half  tipped  over.  Pendren  went  over  the  side  with 
the  girl  in  his  arms.  The  machine  grated  and 
whirred  for  a  while  before  the  water  rose  over  it 
and  stopped  the  engine. 

The  bed  of  the  so-called  river  consisted  mainly  of 
sand,  loose  rocks,  and  debris,  which  had  silted  up 
into  a  kind  of  plateau  just  where  the  two  were 
thrown.  Pendren  felt  the  sharpness  of  thorns 
sticking  into  his  flesh,  and  a  dead  weight  on  his 
body.  How  long  the  weight  was  going  to  keep  him 
pinned  to  the  thorn  bushes  and  stones  he  was  afraid 
to  think;  but  even  as  he  thought  about  it  a  wash 
of  river  water  thrown  off  by  the  car  engine  as  it 
expired  revived  him.  He  realized  that  the  weight 
on  his  body  was  Spring.  She  had  clung  to  him  in 
falling  and  had  fainted.  He  struggled  up  suf- 
ficiently to  see  what  had  happened  to  her,  and  was 


248  SAMARITAN  MARY 

thankful  to  find  that  the  girl  showed  no  broken 
bones,  or  injuries  to  be  alarmed  about. 

The  car  half  buried  in  the  slush  of  mud  and  water 
a  few  yards  away  looked  a  derelict,  abandoned  and 
useless.  Beyond  the  stretch  of  silt  on  which 
Spring  and  Pendren  had  been  thrown  ran  a  spinning 
eddy  of  liquid  which  might  have  been  water,  but 
which  looked  more  like  fly-clogged  syrup. 

Sitting  up  among  the  brambles  and  stones,  with 
the  water  lapping  against  his  knees,  and  Spring  half 
in  it,  Pendren  took  another  look  at  the  girl.  She 
might  have  been  asleep;  only  the  paleness  of  her 
cheeks  told  him  that  she  was  unconscious. 

Pendren  dragged  her  knees  out  of  the  slush  of 
evil-smelling  water.  Then  before  getting  up  he 
raised  her  face  to  his. 

With  the  burning  of  his  kiss  she  opened  her  eyes 
and  looked  right  at  him.  Her  lips  went  to  his  again 
of  her  own  accord. 

"  I'm  so  glad  ...  we  were  .  .  .  together,"  she 
said. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

THE  sweet  summer  day  burst  the  covers  of  the 
night  as  quickly  and  deliberately  as  a  chaste  lady 
stepping  from  her  couch  to  see  what  delights  lay  in 
the  golden  warmth  of  the  morning. 

Sunshine,  flecked  with  a  myriad  of  dancing  aerial 
phantoms,  lay  over  Ladybird  Farm,  and  the  peace 
of  perfect  understanding  seemed  to  be  everywhere. 

Humming  insects  darted  through  the  open  win- 
dow of  Pendren's  room  and  chased  each  other 
through  the  web  of  sunshine  into  the  corners  and 
out  through  the  window  again.  Fragrant  things 
of  fragile  bearing  and  delicate  proportions  woke 
him  to  a  sense  of  something  that  might  have  been 
paradise;  but  he  knew  that  he  was  in  bed,  and  that 
his  haven  of  rest  was  Ladybird  Farm. 

Somebody  called  "  Most  Precious  Mother  "  had 
met  them,  when  he  and  Spring  had  waded  through 
the  mud,  and  in  a  dreadful  state  of  cuts  and  bruises 
were  making  for  the  farm.  She  bathed  their 
wounds  and  cared  for  them  with  the  fondness  of 
a  parent  who  knows  only  the  sorrows  of  others, 
and  has  the  power  to  relieve  with  the  divine  sym- 
pathy and  love  of  a  pure  mind. 

249 


250  SAMARITAN  MARY 

There  had  been  little  talk  of  anything  except  the 
runaway  car  on  their  arrival  at  the  farm,  and  then 
Spring  had  taken  entire  possession  of  the  family 
which  seemed  to  appear  from  every  corner  of  the 
place. 

Pendren,  as  he  remained  in  a  kindly  embrace  of 
charitable  sheets,  had  mental  visions  of  small  people 
who  peeped  and  pried  at  odd  corners  of  the  veranda 
from  which  his  bedroom  led.  These  small  people 
had  had  so  much  consideration  for  "  Spring's  gen- 
tleman," as  he  heard  himself  called,  that  they  had 
taken  turns  to  patrol  that  part  of  the  veranda,  and 
kept  up  a  patter  of  small  toes  and  heels  till  the  most 
precious  mother  carried  them  away  in  installments. 

He  had  come  from  the  most  blessed  sleep,  undis- 
turbed by  dreams  of  any  kind,  and  awakened  to  the 
freshness  of  the  morning.  Fields  well  flooded  with 
sunshine  spread  out  before  the  house  and  wound 
into  paths  of  beaten  gold.  He  was  in  a  room,  bare 
of  anything  but  his  bed,  a  chair  with  a  rush  bottom, 
and  a  parti-colored  rug  which  lay  across  the  floor. 
Dried  grasses  seemed  to  be  under  his  head  and  he 
wondered  what  composed  the  bed  he  lay  on.  Most 
of  the  things  about  seemed  to  be  home-made,  per- 
haps woven  by  the  fingers  of  the  sweet-voiced 
woman  he  had  seen,  with  cleanliness  and  comfort 
everywhere. 

He  thought  of  Spring,  of  the  kiss  given  so  nat- 


SAMARITAN  MARY  251 

urally  and  taken  so  much  as  part  of  a  complete 
whole,  that  whole  being  their  mutual  understanding 
and  love.  Yes,  he  was  sure  it  was  love  on  her  part 
as  well  as  on  his;  but  she  had  yet  to  experience 
awakening  to  the  meaning  of  all  that  love  meant. 
He  reveled  in  the  thought  of  her  budding  woman- 
hood. Deep  draughts  of  it  fed  his  soul  as  well  as 
his  heart  and  ran  into  his  blood,  warming  it  to  a 
rush  of  perfect  happiness.  He  had  never  in  his 
life  met  anyone  quite  like  this  girl,  he  told  himself; 
the  city  was  filled  with  beautiful  women  whose 
only  show  of  natural  womanhood  seemed  to  be  in 
an  indifferent  smile.  One  woman  in  particular  he 
thought  about.  She  would  think  it  indeed  graceless 
and  certainly  not  "  the  thing  "  for  a  girl  to  return 
a  man's  kiss  in  the  way  Spring  had  done  sitting 
there  in  the  midst  of  the  wreckage  in  the  river.  To 
her  it  would  have  meant  cheapening,  almost  humil- 
iating her  womanhood  unless  given  under  seal  of 
a  glittering  ring. 

But  Spring  had  pressed  her  lips  unasked  to  his 
several  times.  She  was  glad  in  doing  so.  In  her 
pure  love  and  simplicity  she  had  not  questioned 
whether  they  would  marry,  or  go  to  New  York,  or 
say  good-by  at  that  minute.  Her  unbounded  sym- 
pathy for  him,  and  her  desire  to  be  with  him  in  a 
time  of  trouble  had  made  her  show  her  feelings  in 
this  sincere  fashion.  If  it  was  as  real  as  he  thought 


252  SAMARITAN  MARY 

it  must  be  it  was  a  gem  to  be  worn  and  treasured 
by  him,  even  in  the  gaudy  lights  of  the  city.  But 
the  city  did  not  seem  to  touch  this  passage  in  his 
life  at  all.  Business  and  the  ties  of  his  home 
were  broken  into  by  something  new  that  this  girl 
had  brought  to  him.  He  wanted  to  live  in  another 
self,  to  bask  in  the  warmth  of  such  love  as  she 
could  give,  and  to  emerge  from  it  a  different 
man. 

Little  feet  were  beginning  to  patter  on  the 
veranda  again.  The  small  people  had  started  an- 
other patrol.  Whispering  came  as  loudly  as  the 
buzzing  of  the  insects.  Pendren  could  see  no  one; 
but  the  small  voices  hummed  around  him,  inter- 
mingling with  the  dancing  sun-flecks. 

"  He's  Spring's  gentleman !  "  was  whispered  loud 
enough  to  make  the  birds  flutter  and  take  flight 
from  the  eaves  of  his  room. 

"  He  .  .  .  might  be  dead.  The  automobile 
is  .  .  ." 

An  interval  of  silence  was  broken  by  more  scrap- 
ing, tapping  feet. 

".Momma  mended  the  crack  so's  we  can't  take 
any  looks  at  him !  " 

Further  tapping  as  apparently  another  member 
of  the  family  brigade  joined  the  others. 

"  Spring's  mos'  growed  up.  Momma  gave  her 
a  tortoise  shell  side-comb  to  keep  her  hair  out  of  her 


SAMARITAN  MARY  253 

eyes.     Momma  says  Spring  looks  as  if  she  never 
was  combed  any  more'n  Peddler  was." 

Peddler,  another  addition  to  the  coterie  of  con- 
fidences, suddenly  asserted  himself  by  scratching  on 
the  doorstep  of  Pendren's  room. 

"  There's    maple    syrup    and    buckwheat   cakes. 

j> 

More  hurried  feet  along  the  veranda  as  appar- 
ently two  more  of  the  small  people  joined  the  com- 
mittee in  the  precise  spot. 

The  whispers  grew  furious  and  incoherently 
mixed  with  some  fresh  excitement. 

"  If  he's  dead  it  would  all  be  wasted,  and  Spring 
would  be  mad,  I  guess." 

"Did  she  find  him?" 

"  Yes  ...  at  the  crossing  where  it's  as  messed 
up  as  anything.  Momma  says  it's  perfeckly  mar- 
velous how  she  got  all  of  him  out  of  the  mud." 

"  Did  she  get  him  out  of  the  mud  ?  Did  he  grow 
there  like  the  things  sticking  up  ?  " 

Another  interval  while  the  whole  lot  collected 
a  little  nearer  Pendren's  door. 

"  I  remember  Barney  Corr's  horse  when  it  got 
stuck  in  the  mud.  It  died  with  its  feet  kicking  in 
the  air  ...  momma  wouldn't  let  us  talk  about  it 
Sh  ...  sh  ..." 

"  If  Spring's  gentleman  is  dead,  could  we  have 
the  buckwheat  cakes  ?  " 


254  SAMARITAN  MARY 

"  Could  we  just  look  at  him  once,  like  we  did  at 
the  horse,  and  run  away  very  quickly  ?  " 

These  queries  seemed  to  bring  their  own  answers, 
and  Pendren  expected  the  entire  family  to  enter 
his  abode  that  precise  minute. 

"  We  could  poke  him  very  gently  with  a  stick 
through  the  door !  "  was  murmured. 

Then  as  somebody  with  a  firmer  tread  came  along 
the  veranda  there  was  a  scatter.  The  whispering 
and  the  melee  ceased,  and  the  children  apparently 
were  dispersed  right  and  left,  with  care,  for  there 
was  no  noise  of  reproach  or  scolding. 

Without  knocking,  or  giving  him  any  warning 
whatever,  Spring  herself  walked  into  his  room.  She 
was  part  of  the  day  as  much  as  the  flickering  sun- 
shine, the  incense,  the  wholesomeness  of  every- 
thing. She  walked  right  up  to  his  bed,  put  tender 
fingers  in  his,  and  stooped  and  kissed  him.  It  was 
the  purest  thing  in  the  world,  that  kiss. 

"  I'm  just  so  pleased  about  everything,"  she  said, 
"  your  loving  me  and  being  here,  right  in  our  very 
house  with  Christine  and  Prue  and  Elsa  and  the 
most  precious  mother  in  the  world.  Oh,  I  did 
not  know  really  how  much  I  wanted  to  come 
home  till  now  I  am  here.  And  more  than  any- 
thing I  wanted  you  to  come  here  to  be  shown  off 
too." 

He  lay  there,  breathing  hard,  and  the  girl  knelt 


SAMARITAN  MARY  255 

down  and  her  two  arms  went  round  him,  almost 
mothering  him  in  their  warm  embrace. 

"  You  see  you  are  the  first  real  man  I  have  ever 
loved.  I  know  it  is  love,  because  I  kept  awake  won- 
dering what  I  should  have  done  if  both  of  us  had 
been  killed  in  the  accident  yesterday.  It  wouldn't 
have  been  nice  to  be  cut  off  so  soon,  with  all  the 
plans  you  have  been  making  for  New  York,  and 
the  provision  for  mother  and  the  children." 

Just  for  a  minute  something  like  a  jealous  pain 
shot  into  Pendren's  heart.  He  wrestled  with  the 
desire  to  push  her  away  and  query  her  last  words. 
New  York  and  his  plans  for  the  provision  of  the 
family  and  her  mother  seemed  so  much  to  her,  and 
she  was  quite  frank  about  it,  as  if  it  were  only 
the  financial  benefits  he  could  give  her  that 
she  was  thankful  for.  He  swallowed  some  of 
the  disappointment  and  raised  himself  on  his 
elbow. 

"  You  will  have  your  tray  now,  and  then  you  and 
mother  can  just  have  the  talk  of  your  lives,"  Spring 
said.  "  I've  told  her  it's  to  be  New  York,  but  she 
doesn't  seem  to  understand  quite  what  I  am  going 
to  do  there." 

A  shade  of  something  like  self -accusation  spread 
over  his  face.  Events  were  moving  so  swiftly  and 
he  was  not  quite  ready  to  be  questioned.  Most, 
and  first  of  all,  he  wanted  to  find  out  wherein  lay 


256  SAMARITAN  MARY 

the  purity  of  her  love.  Whether  it  was  from  the 
thankful  heart  for  his  suggesting  a  way  out  of  the 
family  troubles,  or  because  she  was  just  the  primi- 
tive woman  responding  to  the  instinctive  call  of  her 
mate. 

Pressing  her  face  back,  he  looked  right  into  her 
eyes. 

"  Does  the  thought  of  New  York  really  excite 
you  so  much,  Spring?  "  he  asked.  "  Is  it  the  things 
we  can  buy  there,  the  soft  shades  of  silks  and 
chiffon,  toys  for  the  children,  and  the  attention  you 
will  have  from  friends?  Is  it  that  which  calls  the 
color  of  joy  into  your  sweet  face,  girl  dear?  Tell 
me  .  .  .  tell  me  this  instant.  In  going  to  New 
York,  what  is  it  you  want  most?  What  is  it  that 
would  be  first  and  nearest  to  you  in  the  life  I  pur- 
pose to  start  for  you  there  if  .  .  .  if  all  goes  well? 
Why  do  you  want  to  go  at  all?  " 

Spring  looked  amazed  at  his  sudden  questions. 
"  Why,"  she  said,  "  I  want  to  go  because  you  said 
that  I  could  make  money.  ...  I  must  make  money 
— things  are  ever  so  bad  here,  and  the  farm  ..." 

"  Yes,  yes,  I  know.  But  suppose  your  mother 
was  provided  for,  and  the  children  and  the  farm 
set  right,  would  you  just  as  soon  stay  and  help  at 
home,  or  would  you  choose  .  .  .  New  York?  " 

Spring's  eyes  never  wavered.  She  looked  into 
his  face. 


SAMARITAN  MARY  257 

"  Oh,  I  want  to  go  to  New  York,"  she  said.  "  I 
think  I  would  feel  it  ever  so  much  if  I  did  not  go." 

Then  his  pulse  beat  rapidly  and  he  held  her 
nearer,  his  face  almost  taking  some  of  the  warmth 
from  hers. 

"  Spring  .  .  .  you  child  of  Heaven,  tell  me  why  ? 
If  there  is  reason  enough  and  it  means  your  happi- 
ness, by  all  that  is  right  you  shall  go." 

"  I  want  to  go  to  New  York  because  ..."  she 
let  him  draw  her  down  to  him,  "  because  .  .  .  you 
are  going  there  and  ...  I  want  to  go  with  you." 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

MARY  SETTLER  addressed  the  old  house  cat  that 
was  stalking  round  the  kitchen  and  giving  vent  oc- 
casionally to  a  rather  weak  lament  about  something 
or  other. 

"  Hannah-Ellen,  it's  only  very  ordinary  folks 
that  never  stretches  a  leg  or  a  hand  to  save  them- 
selves, and  always  relies  on  other  people  to  sing 
the  march  onwards.  You've  got  a  grouch  this 
morning  about  your  kittens  deserting  you,  and  it's 
no  more  right  for  you  to  sing  out  then  it  would  be 
for  me  to  call  down  misery  on  account  of  Spring 
and  that  Lancelot  taking  their  own  way  in  matters 
I  got  no  right  to  interfere  in.  Everybody  in  this 
world,  be  it  dogs,  or  kittens,  or  cows,  or  waterbugs, 
or  human  women,  or  children,  or  men  has  the  best 
right  to  think  and  go  as  they  please.  Even  clouds 
has  that  much  allowed  them,  and  even  if,  after  all, 
everything  connected  with  them,  be  they  men, 
women,  children,  kittens,  cows,  or  clouds,  does  go 
to  water,  and  come  down  a  perfect  deluge,  it's  only 
the  ways  of  things." 

The  cat  looked  up  from  the  floor  and  whined  on 
&  long-drawn  note  of  incredulity. 

258 


SAMARITAN  MARY  259 

"  Howl  out  as  often  and  as  big  as  you  prefer  it, 
Hannah-Ellen,  but  you  got  to  take  this  to  bed  with 
you.  Other  folks,  not  in  the  deluge,  has  only  got 
the  right  to  go  in  afterwards  and  wade  out  to  do 
what  they  can  to  stop  those  foolish  creatures  from 
the  drowning.  If  the  mistake  wasn't  of  their  own 
accord  and  misfortune,  there  would  be  nothing  for 
such  as  you  and  me  to  do  afterwards." 

As  if  Mary  had  said  something  convincingly 
soothing,  Hannah-Ellen  settled  down  where  she 
was,  and  blinked  slowly.  She  was  quite  agreeable 
«to  leave  all  matters  of  botheration  to  somebody  who 
evidently  understood  them  better  than  she  did. 

Mary  stood  looking  out  across  the  yard.  Ben- 
jamin was  turning  up  the  row  he  had  dug  two  days 
before  and  breaking  the  soil  and  scattering  the  tus- 
socks of  weeds  everywhere.  Every  now  and  then 
he  would  lift  his  hat  and  wipe  his  hot  face  upon 
it  and  look  wide  into  the  country.  Mary  seemed 
to  know  his  every  thought. 

"  He's  finding  the  row  hot  work  all  on  account 
of  fretting  about  Clara,"  she  soliloquized.  "  Land, 
it  is  much  the  same  with  Miss  Hetty  and  Hek 
Dean!  Life  seems  all  topsy-turvy,  and  things  is 
hard  by  reason  that  somebody  will  have  to  go  in, 
as  I  said  just  now,  and  pull  these  poor  foolish  crea- 
tures out.  Tisn't  as  if  they  would  drown,  not  be 
a  long  way;  but  they  will  struggle  and  struggle,  and 


260  SAMARITAN  MARY 

clutch  at  each  other,  and  maybe  hurt  one  another 
the  more  for  bein'  in  the  swamp,  when  all  the  time 
they  don't  want  to  be  in  it  at  all." 

She  watched  Benjamin  a  minute  longer,  then 
went  in  to  begin  her  afternoon's  work. 

"  Jest  supposing  that  Lancelot,  is  married,  and 
Mrs.  Pendren  as  much  of  a  cinch  as  a  man's  head 
is  to  his  shoulders  .  .  .  well,  I  don't  suppose  there 
would  be  any  use  of  us  to  interfere  'cept  to  pull 
Spring  out  before  she  gets  her  head  under.  Sup- 
pose she  has  got  her  head  under  already?  I  been 
leaving  her  feelings  out  of  the  matter  pretty  much 
as  if  she  had  none  at  all.  .  .  .  Lancelot,  he  cares 
right  enough,  but  she  .  .  .  well,  she  don't  under- 
stand life  as  we  do.  I'd  be  kind  of  particular  re- 
lieved this  instant  if  I  thought  that  .  .  .  that  it 
was,  after  all,  on  account  of  the  dressing,  and  the 
plate-glass  winders,  she  wanted  to  go  to  New  York." 

Starting  on  a  piece  of  work,  Mary  tried  to  go 
through  with  it,  but  evidently  it  did  not  please  her, 
for  she  put  it  down  and  began  something  else.  Half 
an  hour  later  she  put  that  away,  and  began  to  heat 
the  irons  for  no  proper  reason  whatever. 

"  Seems  like  I  am  going  into  the  deluge  meself 
and  can't  stick  to  nothin'  till  someone  comes  to  pull 
me  out,"  she  remarked  to  Hannah-Ellen.  "  Here 
I've  started  fully  three  things  in  an  hour  and  none 
of  them  a  properly  going  concern,  and  it  nearly 


SAMARITAN  MARY  261 

three  o'clock  already.  What  I  put  those  irons  on 
for  would  be  as  hard  as  guessing  who  that  is  raising 
the  dust  on  the  top  of  Jake  Heldy's  hill  of  turnips." 
She  looked  out  with  shaded  eyes.  "  Waste  of 
time  guessing.  Same  as  it  is  a  waste  of  time  trying 
to  make  out  what  the  matter  is  with  me  today. 
Perhaps  I  got  too  many  people  sitting  on  my  brain 
at  the  same  time,  and  F  ought  to  kind  of  work  a 
few  of  'em  off  before  I  settle  to  sleep.  Same  time, 
Hannah-Ellen,  it  ain't  the  hour  to  save  foolish  crea- 
tures till  they  are  really  in  the  soup.  Meantime,  I 
better  get  busy  saving  meself  from  too  much  inter- 
ferences and  too  many  upsets  in  consequence." 

A  little  later  she  was  interrupted  by  Benjamin 
shouting  to  her  from  the  row.  Together  with  this 
came  a  rapping  on  her  front  door,  and  a  general 
tumult  of  grating,  vibrating  machinery,  and  voices 
from  the  road,  almost  as  if  someone  had  pulled 
up,  thinking  Mary  Settler's  farm  might  be  a  rail- 
way depot.  The  good  woman  opened  the  door  to 
see  a  full-sized  automobile  and  four  or  five  people 
standing  in,  or  round  it. 

A  young  man  on  her  doorstep,  rustling  with  the 
importance  of  leather  leggings,  a  rubber  coat,  and  a 
pair  of  globular  blue-black  goggles  worn  across 
his  forehead,  questioned  her  spasmodically. 

Mary  Settler  did  not  know  whether  to  listen  to  his 
questions,  or  to  answer  the  lady  in  the  car,  who 


262  SAMARITAN  MARY 

was  gyrating  and  talking  from  the  minute  the  door 
opened.  The  goggles  of  the  man  on  the  doorstep 
held  Mary  all  the  time  the  chauffeur  was  trying  to 
make  her  understand  that  they  wanted  to  find  some- 
one presumably  lost  in  that  district;  but  in  the  ex- 
citement of  the  arrival,  with  no  one  but  this  shabby, 
kitchen-marked  woman  to  receive  them  with  a  po- 
lite nod  of  recognition,  they  seemed  to  have  for- 
gotten to  give  the  name  of  the  person  they  were 
seeking.  The  lady  in  the  car  was  hailing  Mary  to 
come  to  her  immediately,  and  the  man  wearing  the 
rubber  coat  was  trying  to  get  some  information  out 
of  her  before  anything  else  chipped  in.  Mary  sur- 
veyed him  once  again  from  his  double  pair  of  dust- 
rimmed  eyes  to  his  mud-clogged  boots,  and  then 
left  the  door  to  come  further  out  into  the  porch 
and  the  sunlight. 

"  Is  it  Mr..  Lancelot  Pendren  you  are  churning 
up  about  ? "  she  asked,  only  guessing  that  it 
might  be  Q.  L.  P.'s  people  come  to  inquire  about 
him. 

"Yes,  it's  Lance;  where  is  he?"  The  second 
lady  standing  between  the  car  and  the  house  got 
her  first  word  in. 

"  I  been  expecting  some  of  his  folks  down  these 
parts  since  ever  he  got  messed  up  weeks  ago,"  Mary 
replied.  "  Shall  you  be  putting  up  here  or  continu- 
ing your  passage,  seeing  that  the  bird  has  flown,  as 


SAMARITAN  MARY  263 

the  song  says  ?  I  had  Lancelot  under  my  wing  long 
enough  to  hand  you  out  some  information  for  and 
against  the  case.  Whichever  side  you  prefers,  you 
have  only  got  to  step  inside  Mary  Settler's  parlor 
and  the  drinks  is  on  the  house,  as  they  tells  me, 
though  it's  only  apple  cider  or  cherry  wine  made  in 
my  own  press.  Come  in,  sir,  unless  you'll  all  be 
disembarking.  Maybe  you'd  like  to  help  the  ladies 
out  of  the  machinery  first  of  all." 

The  girl  standing  in  the  road  laughed  merrily 
and  said  something  in  an  undertone  to  the  other 
people  sitting  in  the  car.  Beside  the  chauffeur  there 
was  a  subordinate  who  stood  near  the  tonneau  and 
seemed  never  to  remove  his  eyes  from  the  one 
direction  except  to  open  and  close  the  door  of  the 
car.  Then  immediately  he  would  fall  into  line 
again  and  assume  the  same  sphinx-like  attitude. 
Also  there  was  a  gentleman  of  the  lethargic,  yawn- 
ful  nature  who  seemed  to  have  to  be  probed  to  be 
waked  up  at  all.  Out  of  the  whole  crowd  Mary 
seemed  to  think  her  dealings  would  be  first  of  all 
with  the  lady  whose  gyrations  and  queries  seemed 
to  be  one  and  the  same  thing.  The  girl  who  had 
laughed  so  merrily  found  a  place  right  inside  the 
good  woman's  soul  from  the  moment  she  met  her 
face  to  face.  There  was  the  same  direct  look  in 
her  eyes  as  there  was  in  Pendren's,  and  that  caught 
at  the  heart-strings  of  Mary  Settler.  It  was  almost 


264  SAMARITAN  MARY 

as  if  truth  were  calling  for  truth  from  the  depths 
of  those  eyes. 

"  You  are  Miss  Settler,  and  you  have  been  look- 
ing after  Lance,  my  brother,  like  a  mother?  "  asked 
the  sparkling  little  woman.  Mary  took  that  as  if 
it  were  a  gift  thrust  into  her  hands.  The  mothering 
of  Q.  L.  P.  was  a  touch  of  fire  to  her  heart  for  this 
young  woman  also. 

"  I  cried  all  night  when  I  heard  of  the  acci- 
dent .  .  . "  the  girl  went  on,  "  but  when  the  letter 
explained  how  comfortable  and  .  .  .  and  happy  he 
was,  I  just  sat  down  and  howled  over  that." 

She  put  a  dainty  buckskin  glove  on  Mary's  hand, 
and  Mary  felt  a  glow  of  extra  warmth  start  from 
her  fingers  and  run  right  to  her  toes. 

"  This  is  the  one  that  takes  to  her  bed  first  chance, 
and  me  thinking  it  a  mortal  sin,  may  the  Lord  for- 
give me,"  flashed  through  Mary's  mind.  "  She's 
clean  metal  all  through  and  no  denting  if  there's 
any  rough  handling." 

"  There's  nothing  like  a  good  cry,  miss,  to  kind 
of  wash  out  some  of  the  trouble,  and  it  gets  over  a 
deal  of  other  things  which  run  down  the  sink  at 
the  same  time.  Come  right  along  in.  I  had  this 
room  turned  out  only  this  very  morning  after 
Lancelot,  I  mean  your  brother,  had  resigned  his 
claim." 

"  Then  he  is  not  here.    How  disgusting !  "    The 


SAMARITAN  MARY  265 

second  lady  came  in  for  her  turn  again.  She  sat 
down  on  the  couch  as  if  she  had  been  pushed  there 
and  loosened  her  wraps  and  silk  motor-veil.  "  Such 
a  journey,  too,  and  such  awful  roads!  I  thought 
that  we  would  be  capsized  every  second  minute." 

Mary  nodded  her  head  slowly. 

"  Precisely  what  I  said  to  Clara  Hopkins  when 
Lancelot  set  out  with  Spring  Roper  for  her  ma's 
place  a  few  days  ago.  The  way  that  auto  lopped 
about.  This  country  weren't  ever  laid  down  for 
anything  but  the  wagons  and  vegetable  carts,  or  for 
feet  like  mine  or  Benjamin's.  .  .  .  Won't  the 
other  gentlemen  come  in  and  take  some  refresh- 
ment?" 

The  other  gentlemen  were  standing  at  attention 
near  the  car  outside,  and  Mary  waved  a  long  arm 
in  their  direction.  The  girl  laughed  again,  and  the 
lady  who  had  emerged  from  the  folds  of  her  motor 
coat  and  wraps,  stared,  at  a  loss  to  know  what  to 
say. 

The  only  reply  came  from  the  lethargic  gentle- 
man, who  stopped  yawning  when  he  got  into  Mary's 
parlor  because  there  was  so  much  to  interest  him 
in  it. 

"What's  that  about  Lancelot?"  he  questioned. 
"  We  understood,  my  wife  and  I,  that  his  recent 
accident  in  that  rotten  little  dash-about  car  of  his, 
had  tied  him  a  prisoner  here  and  that  he  was  far 


266  SAMARITAN  MARY 

too  smashed-up  to  return  to  his  home.  Strange  he 
should  have  deliberately  gone,  Pearl,  after  writing 
in  such  a  way !  " 

Pearl,  who  was  the  youngest  lady,  did  not  seem 
to  think  anything  strange  at  all.  She  simply  smiled 
at  him,  and  the  other  woman  answered  instead. 

"  My  dear  Huckle,  some  of  the  things  that  Lance 
does,  and  some  of  the  places  he  gets  into  at  times, 
do  not  bear  the  light  on  them.  This  whole  business 
of  his  is  questionable.  Who  did  you  say  he  went 
away  with  ?  " 

"  He  clean  drove  that  auto  like  mad  for  Bird 
Town,  miss,  or,  begging  your  pardon,  perhaps  you 
are  Mrs.  Lancelot  Pendren  as  we  posted  his  letter 
to." 

"  Yes,  I  am  Mrs.  Pendren,"  said  the  bundle  of 
clothes.  "  I  want  to  take  a  clean  cut  with  Lance 
about  this  whole  affair.  Possibly  he  was  never 
wrecked  up  at  all.  I  never  trust  these  country 
places.  They  are  a  perfect  vortex  of  cheap  adven- 
tures which  generally  end  in — stupidity.  His  letter 
to  me  shows  that." 

It  was  evident  by  her  manner  that  Pendren's  last 
letter  had  raised  some  trouble  that  was  not  going 
to  be  put  down  immediately. 

The  youngest  lady  of  the  party,  still  smiling,  as 
if  everything  were  a  huge  joke,  took  a  hand  in 
things  again.  Almost  at  the  same  moment  Clara 


SAMARITAN  MARY  267 

Hopkins  put  her  head  in  at  the  back  kitchen  door 
and  shouted  to  Mary. 

"  What  was  the  name  of  the  girl  you  mentioned 
just  now,  or  was  it  a  man  who  drove  away  with 
Lance?"  the  youngest  visitor  asked,  and  Clara  at 
the  same  instant,  right  from  the  rear,  cried : 

"  My  word,  Mary,  you  should  hear  that  there 
Benjamin.  If  it  don't  beat  all  I  ever  came  across! 
Mary,  where  are  you  ?  " 

Mary  Settler  assorted  her  visitors  into  several 
different  chairs  with  a  fresh  show  of  politeness. 
"  If  you  will  just  stack  up  together  here,  I'll  get 
that  Clara  Hopkins  to  fetch  you  some  refreshment, 
then  we  can  get  to  business  right  away,"  she  said. 
"  There's  something  doing  your  side,  I  can  see,  as 
well  as  ours,  though  I  don't  always  hold  with  folks 
who  call  out  before  they  are  shot,  as  the  sayin'  is. 
Sit  down,  sir,  there's  room  on  the  settee,  and  it's 
the  same  as  young  Lancelot  himself  had  cause  to 
use  so  often,  it  won't  be  beneath  you  if  you  are  as 
tired  and  ready  to  die  of  weariness  as  he  was  when 
I  first  located  him  up  at  Liz  Hetty's." 

This  was  addressed  to  the  gentleman  called 
Huckle,  and  Mary  could  not  make  up  her  mind 
whether  to  assign  him  to  the  younger  lady  of  the 
party  or  to  the  one  who  presumably  wished  it  to  be 
understood  that  she  was  Chief.  He  looked  at  the 
settee  and  its  gaudy  flowering  cover,  then  he  took 


268  SAMARITAN  MARY 

it,  indifferently,  and  crossed  one  leg  over  the 
other. 

"  I  don't  believe  we  have  really  explained  who 
we  are,  or  what  we  have  come  about,"  said  the 
nicest  of  the  party.  "  I  am  Lancelot's  sister,  and 
this  is  my  husband,  Mr.  Hucklebury  Carr." 

Mary  looked  at  the  gentleman  indicated  and 
waited  for  him  to  speak.  She  felt  almost  stunned. 
All  along  she  had  been  thinking  that  he  might  be- 
long to  either  one  or  the  other  of  the  two  ladies, 
but  somehow  things  didn't  seem  to  run  smoothly 
with  Hucklebury  Carr  attached  to  the  dear  little 
smiling  lady.  However,  Mary  nodded,  and  the 
frantic  revolutions  of  the  lady  on  the  couch  began 
again. 

"  And  I  ...  am  Mrs.  Lancelot  Pendren.  It  is 
solely  on  my  account  that  we  are  here  at  all." 

"  I  don't  get  you,"  Mary  remarked  calmly.  "  I 
thought  it  was  purely  on  account  of  that  Lancelot, 
who  was  very  nearly  wrecked  to  bits,  that  this  depu- 
tation happened  at  all." 

"  It's  the  same  thing,"  retorted  the  chief  lady. 
"  Lancelot  and  I  are  bound  by  .  .  . "  Here  Clara 
Hopkins  and  her  insistent  squeaking  came  rapidly 
along  the  passage  into  the  room.  She  stopped 
short. 

"  Land,  Mary,"  she  said,  "  Benjamin  never  said 
nothing  about  you  having  company." 


SAMARITAN  MARY  269 

Mary  introduced  Clara,  and  everybody  but  the 
younger  woman  looked  almost  offended. 

"  This  is  the  city  folks  belonging  to  that  Q.  L.  IP., 
Clara,  we  been  so  precious  anxious  about  of  late," 
Mary  said.  "  Would  you  mind  fetching  in  a 
pitcher  of  the  apple  cider  and  some  of  the  wine  in 
the  press,  and  jest  a  handful  or  so  of  them  cakes 
from  the  box  on  the  kitchen  shelf?  Mrs.  Lancelot 
looks  mortal  done  up  by  the  travel,  and  we've  busi- 
ness to  start  on  that  maybe  will  be  digested  better 
on  a  full  stomach." 

Clara  made  as  quick  an  exit  as  she  had  an  en- 
trance. Then  Mary  took  a  chair  and  started  in 
right  away. 

"  I  was  saying,  Mrs.  Hucklebury  Carr,"  she 
spoke  to  the  merry  face  right  in  front  of  her,  "  that 
it  was  Spring  Roper  that  Lancelot,  your  brother, 
drove  off  with  like  mad  for  Bird  Town." 

"Roper!"  Everybody  seemed  to  say  it  at  the 
same  time,  and  the  good  woman  felt  as  if  she  had 
been  suddenly  slapped. 

"  Yes,  Spring  Roper,  as  lives  with  her  ma  and 
a  bunch  of  children,  all  as  perky  and  as  pretty  as 
peaches  blown  off  a  tree.  ..." 

The  lady  who  had  been  on  the  couch  started  to 
her  feet.  "Why,  the  whole  thing  is  a  trick,  of 
course.  Huckle,  can't  you  say  anything?  Roper 
is  the  name  of  the  people  that  all  this  stupid  fuss 


270  SAMARITAN  MARY 

over  the  firm's  rights  has  been  about.  After  what 
Lance  wrote  to  me  about  this  girl,  and  the  fact  that 
she  is  of  the  very  family  who  would  defraud  his 
father,  can't  you  see  that  he  is  in  their  clutches? 
He  must  be  out  of  his  mind,  and  of  course  it  is  the 
result  of  the  .  .  .  the  accident. 

"  Do  you  mean  to  say,"  she  turned  to  Mary, 
"  that  Mr.  Pendren  actually  drove  this  girl  he  is  so 
infatuated  with  ...  be  quiet,  Pearl!  " 

Mrs.  Hucklebury  Carr  had  tried  to  stop  her. 

"  Let  us  stick  to  the  point,  Alys,  whatever  we 
do,"  said  Mrs.  Carr. 

"  I  want  to  understand  the  whole  matter  before 
I  .  .  before  I  give  Lance  the  freedom  he  thinks  he 
has  a  right  to.  This  business  of  the  girl  might  have 
had  something  in  it,  if  it  had  been  a  matter  of 
sentiment,  but  when  we  find  out  that  she  is  one 
of  the  very  family  that  the  firm  is  going  to  fight 
for  .  .  .  for  what  is  legally  theirs  ..." 

"  Meaning  .   .   .  the  Ropers',"  put  in  Mary. 

"  Meaning  the  Pendrens',"  said  the  lady.  "  Noth- 
ing is  legally  owing  to  the  Ropers  any  more  than 
it  is  to  .  .  .  you.  The  whole  business  is  a  trick  on 
the  side  of  that  family;  I  can  see  it,  if  nobody  else 
can.  Do  you  think  I  would  sit  by  and  let  my  .  .  . 
my  Lancelot  be  defrauded  by  a  set  of  people  who 
send  a  girl  with  country-bred  ways  to  entrap  the 
boy?  Poor  fellow,  I  can  see  he  has  been  nicely 


SAMARITAN  MARY  271 

taken  in  while  he  has  been  under  the  ...  the  effect 
of  the  accident.  Huckle,  can't  you  see  it?  Pearl? 
How  silly  you  all  are!  Lance  has  been  worked" 
upon  when  he  has  not  been  quite  himself.  His 
father  would  be  furious.  .  .  .  We  must  stop  it 
right  away."  She  began  to  throw  out  her  arms 
and  to  walk  the  room  as  if  beside  herself. 

Mary  took  it  all  very  calmly. 

"  Stop  the  auto  .  .  .  you  mean,  Mrs.  Pendren, 
or  stop  Lancelot  loving  Spring  ?  " 

"  Stop  the  whole  stupid  business  and  give  that 
girl  something  to  hold  her  tongue.  I  admit  that 
Lance  must  have  been  foolish,  but  then  that  fall 
from  the  car  is  responsible  for  a  lot.  He  evidently 
was  not  in  his  right  mind  when  he  wrote  that  letter 
to  me." 

Mary  stood  up  to  admit  Clara  with  cakes  and 
cherry  wine. 

"  Clara,"  she  said  quietly,  "  would  you  say  that 
Lancelot  Pendren  we  nursed  so  long  was  account- 
able for  his  actions  or  not?  Seems  like  there  is 
some  argument  here  about  it." 

"  I  never  seen  anyone  so  sane  in  my  life,"  said 
Clara,  putting  down  the  tray.  "Benjamin 
says "  Mary  put  up  her  hand. 

"  Well,  Clara,  this  here  lady  sitting  up  ready  and 
pleased  to  take  a  drink  of  cherry  wine  and  a  cookie, 
as  you've  kindly  brought  in,  is  the  other  end  of 


272  SAMARITAN  MARY 

that  correspondence,  being  herself  Mrs.  Lancelot 
Pendren — and  ready,  I  take  it,  to  die  to  prove  it 
true." 

Clara  stared,  hopelessly  frank. 

"  Mrs.  .  .  .  Lancelot  Pendren,"  she  said  with 
gaping  mouth.  "  Sakes,  Mary !  no  wonder  he  was 
clean  upset  to  get  that  letter  to  the  post.  Sane, 
wasn't  he  ?  I  should  like  to  tell  you  that  I  guess  he 
was  never  saner  in  his  life  than  he  was  while  he  was 
here.  Wait  till  you  see  Spring  Roper  ..." 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

"  SEE  her?  Of  course  I  shall  see  her,"  said  Mrs. 
Lancelot  Pendren.  "If  there  is  anything  in  this 
affair  at  all  I  shall  bring  an  action  against  everyone 
of  you  for  taking  advantage  of  a  man  suffering 
from — mental  aberration." 

Mrs.  Hucklebury  Carr  allowed  a  long  restrained 
laugh  to  escape  her.  The  gentleman  on  the  settee 
sat  forward  and  spoke  at  last. 

"  Whatever  is  the  matter  ?  "  he  asked. 

Pearl  Carr  seemed  to  be  enjoying  -herself  tre- 
mendously. 

"  The  idea  of  Lance  suffering  from  mental  ab- 
erration is  so  killing !  "  she  exclaimed. 

"  I  should  not  laugh  over  it,"  snapped  the  lady- 
in-chief. 

"  I  certainly  would  not  cry  over  it,  then."  Mrs. 
Carr  was  rocking  about  on  the  couch. 

"  How  can  you,  Pearl  ?  Is  it  nothing  to  you  that 
certain  facts  about  the  case  that  that  wretch  Bless- 
ing has  stirred  up  might  be  brought  to  light  and 
proved  against  us?  I  don't  say  for  an  instant  that 
it  would  be  to  our  discredit,  rather  more  to  a  flaw 
somewhere  in  these  beastly  agreements  made  years 

273 


274  SAMARITAN  MARY 

ago.  But  with  that  staring  you  in  the  face,  and 
Lancelot's  future  at  stake — with  my  future  at 
stake  .  .  .  it  is  preposterous ! ! !  Why,  this  girl  has 
got  hold  of  him,  don't  you  see?  And  the  whole 
scoop  will  be  theirs,  just  through  her  fooling  of 
him.  Oh,  I  know  what  Lancelot  is  with  women. 
He  has  a  bee  about  the  simple  life  and  all  that  kind 
of  rubbish.  When  it  was  a  matter  of  fighting  the 
thing  for  his  father  he  was  ready  to  burn  for  our 
rights,  but  when  it  comes  to  a  saucer-eyed  girl — 
who  probably  shelters  her  real  reasons  for  getting 
at  him  under  the  blushes  of  apple-cheeks — he  lets 
everything  go  for  a  sentiment  that  is  as  sloppy  as 
this  wretched  place  is.  Huckle,  get  up  and  do 
something,  for  goodness'  sake.  Lance  has  been 
led  into  things  while  under  a  mental  strain,  I 
say." 

Another  good  laugh  from  Mrs.  Carr  stopped  her 
saying  more. 

"  For  the  life  of  me,  Alys,  I  can't  stop  laughing," 
she  said.  "  It  all  makes  Lance  into  the  hero  of  a 
two-cent-serial  run  in  installments.  First  chapter: 
The  villain  enters  and  tries  to  take  the  good  old 
family  estate;  second  .  .  .  the  heir  apparent  dashes 
for  the  country-side  to  discover,  if  he  can  discover, 
any  loophole  to  save  the  fortune  which  he  has  long 
enjoyed;  third  .  .  .  by  a  lucky  stroke  of  fate  he 
encounters  the  blushing  maiden  of  his  dreams — lo- 


SAMARITAN  MARY  275 

cates  her  through  an  accident,  and  they  fall  in 
love;  fourth  ...  he  wooes  her  under  another 
name  ..." 

Mary  Settler  could  scarcely  keep  still.  "  You  got 
it  clean  off  the  slate,  Mrs.  Hucklebury,"  she  inter- 
rupted, "  all  but  the  '  other  name  '  piece.  Lancelot 
never  wooed  Spring  under  any  name  but  that  of 
God's  good  name  of  love.  And  the  wooing,  allow- 
ing for  shortage  of  certain  things  on  Spring's  side 
of  it,  which  any  town  lady  would  have  carried  about 
with  her  kind  of  natural,  going  on  under  me  very 
own  eyes,  not  happening  to  have  as  much  as  a  for- 
tune tacked  on  to  it  at  all.  Lancelot,  he  up  and  falls 
at  Spring's  feet  only  through  her  being  a  mere  child 
and  not  knowing  what  he  was  at.  Money  bags 
don't  come  into  it  when  God  Himself  is  directing 
that  auto  to  her  very  mother's  house  and  him  not 
even  knowing  her  name  any  more  than  I  knew  his 
when  I  picked  him  up  worse  off  than  when  he  fell 
into  the  lilac  bushes  round  the  corner." 

But  Mrs.  Hucklebury  Carr  continued  her  little 
game. 

"  Fifth  .  .  .  he  is  ignorant  of  her  real  name  and 
family,  and  takes  her  to  her  mother  to  ask  consent 
to  the  marriage  ..." 

"  Stop  it ! "  The  lady-in-chief  could  sit  still  no 
longer.  "  Pearl,  you  are  making  a  hideous  comedy 
of  the  whole  thing." 


276  SAMARITAN  MARY 

"  Well,  isn't  it  better  than  turning  it  into  a  trag- 
edy, Alys?  '  Oh,  let  us  be  cheerful/  as  the  boys 
say.  I  don't  care  if  the  whole  bank  goes  smash  so 
long  as  Lance  really  is  happy." 

"  Happy  .  .  .  ?  Pearl,  you  seem  to  forget  my 
part  in  it  all.  I  should  never  dream  of  giving  him 
his  freedom,  and  it  will  serve  that  girl  right." 

Mary  looked  at  Clara,  who  had  been  sitting  sim- 
ply staring. 

"  If  that  auto  plays  the  tricks  it  did  on  his  ar- 
rival in  these  parts,"  Mary  said,  "  I  should  say  he 
might  take  his  own  freedom  like  he  nearly  did  be- 
fore." This  brought  a  silence  in  which  everybody 
gazed  at  her. 

"  If  you'll  excuse  me,  Mrs.  Lancelot,"  Mary  con- 
tinued, "  you'll  let  things  be  till  the  Lord  Himself 
unwinds  the  apparatus.  It's  like  catching  your  feet 
in  a  mess  of  things  you  don't  understand.  Before 
making  them  any  the  worse  you'll  have  to  set  down 
and  think  it  out.  The  further  you  go  the  more  tan- 
gled up  you'll  get,  and  until  you  come  to  common 
human  sense  about  it,  you'll  find  yourself  sitting  on 
the  ground  on  your  head  and  ears  more  like  than 
anything.  If  that  auto  ran  straight  for  Bird  Town, 
it's  likely  that  Spring  and  that  Q.  L.  P.  would  be 
well  in  the  bosom  of  the  family  by  now.  If  you 
like,  I'll  confess  to  helping  on  their  mutual  under- 
standing, but  then  .  .  .  same  time,  Clara  and  Ben- 


SAMARITAN  MARY  277 

jamin  and  me  never  really  got  to  the  correct  state 
of  his  having  anyone  like  you  to — to  ..." 

"  You  mind,  Mary,"  Clara  took  her  -turn  now, 
"  you  mind  the  time  we  dug  out  those  socks  and 
underclo'es  ?  " 

"  They  didn't  prove  nothing  at  all  any  more  than 
you  having  your  best  things  on  now  makes  it  that 
you  expected  me  to  be  having  company  today." 

"  Oh,  I  can  see  it  all,"  chimed  the  lady-in-chief. 
"  Lancelot  told  us  first  of  all  that  he  was  too  upset 
by  his  fall  to  think  about  the  firm's  business.  Then 
I  suppose  the  girl's  influence  has  kept  him  here  until 
he  suspected  some  of  us  would  be  down,  and  he  has 
made  a  dash  to  get  things  settled." 

"  He  was  mighty  careful  about  that  letter  should 
go  at  once  to  you,"  said  Mary.  "  None  of  us  were 
acquainted  with  the  contents,  but  I  guessed  there 
was  fire  and  regular  business  hot  on  the  track  after 
him  by  the  way  he  was  that  anxious." 

"  Poor  old  Lance.  I  am  dying  to  see  him,  Alys, 
if  it's  a  case  of  love,  as  Miss  Settler  says,  you've 
got  to  go  out  of  this." 

"  I'll  never,  never  give  Lance  up,  not  even  if  the 
whole  estate  goes  to  the  other  side.  The  girl  has 
simply  taken  advantage  of  him  ..." 

"  Well,  let  us  find  that  out." 

Mrs.  Hucklebury  Carr  unbuttoned  her  wraps. 

"  But  before  going  another  inch  to  do  so,  I  am 


278  SAMARITAN  MARY 

going  to  eat  four  of  those  cakes,  and  put  my  feet 
up,  and  have  a  thorough  good  rest." 

Mary  rose  immediately. 

"  There's  my  bedroom,  Mrs.  Carr,  and  I'll  jest 
draw  the  shades  so's  you  can  be  undisturbed  and 
not  even  a  fly  to  bother  you." 

"  That  will  suit  me  perfectly,"  said  the  younger 
lady.  "  Huckle,  don't  you  step  an  inch  to  wake  me 
till  I  am  ready  to  go  on.  Look  after  Alys.  She 
needs  it  more  than  I  do.  I'm  just  going  right  to  bed 
this  very  instant  and  I  am  not  quite  sure  that  I'm  not 
going  to  have  a  real  good  cry  just  to  ease  up  a  bit." 

"  Just  as  you  like,  ma'am,"  said  Mary.  "  Lance- 
lot did  happen  to  mention  that  you  was  very  partial 
to  something  of  the  sort,  though  ..." 

Mrs.  Hucklebury  Carr,  with  a  cake  in  each  plump 
hand,  got  off  her  chair  and  walked  over  to  Mary. 

"  If  I  oversleep,  Alys,  don't  bother  waiting  for 
me.  The  sound  of  you  and  Lance  breaking  your 
long-lived  contract  would  give  me  a  headache  with 
the  noise,  I'm  sure." 

She  went  along  the  passage  with  Mary  Settler, 
and  Clara  rose  to  clear  away  the  tray. 

Way  down  past  Bird  Town,  Lancelot  Pendren 
sat  in  the  slumberous  afternoon  light  with  Spring 
close  beside  him.  At  different  points  of  advantage 
the  small  people  of  the  farm  crouched  hidden  so 


SAMARITAN  MARY  279 

that  they  could  watch  Spring  and  her  "  gentleman  " 
playing  "company"  to  each  other.  Pendren  had 
his  bad  wrist  bound  again  and  in  a  sling.  Spring 
had  insisted  on  this,  and  the  "  most  precious 
mother,"  scarcely  lingering  to  say  anything,  had 
gone  about  the  farm  work  with  her  usual  care  and 
quiet.  Towards  the  evening,  she  told  herself,  she 
would  sit  down  and  let  these  two  young  people  tell 
her  their  story.  There  seemed  no  reason  to  hurry 
them  over  it. 

Pendren  could  not  help  staring  at  Spring's  mother 
as  she  sat  there  in  the  light  of  the  evening  with  the 
trellis  and  vines  sheltering  her  from  the  rear. 
Spring  was  very  like  her.  She  had  the  same  true 
eyes,  the  same  direct  way  of  looking  through  a  per- 
son, and  the  same  quick  little  fashion  of  putting  her 
hands  together  as  if  everything  in  life  were  a  matter 
of  beseeching  and  of  giving  thanks. 

"  We  want  to  tell  you  everything,  my  most 
precious  Mother,"  said  Spring,  but  Lancelot  held 
back,  almost  afraid.  The  answer  to  his  letter  had 
not  come  yet,  and  he  felt  that  he  was  not  free  to 
speak  of  Spring's  future  until  he  was  sure  of  his 
own. 

"  We  love  each  other,"  Spring  was  saying,  "  and 
it's  just  a  perfectly  heavenly  feeling  like  you  have 
for  the  children,  Mother.  But  first  of  all  we've  got 
to  start  a  kind  of  confession  ..." 


280  SAMARITAN  MARY 

"  That  is  what  I'm  waiting  for,  dear,"  said  the 
woman. 

Then,  vanquished  by  her  gentleness,  her  sweet- 
ness, Pendren  went  down  on  his  knees  and  kissed 
the  hands  which  lay  in  her  lap. 

"  Can  you  trust  me  a  little  longer,  most  precious 
Mother  ?  "  he  asked. 

"Trust  you  with  Spring?  If  you  care.  Oh,  it 
would  break  my  heart  if  you  did  not.  She  doesn't 
know  yet  what  all  this  means." 

Pendren  felt  his  head  swimming.  Almost  he 
wanted  to  rush  away.  He  began  to  explain.  "  It's 
this  way :  I  have  got  business  to  attend  to  for  my 
father.  But  I  want  to  get  it  through  first  of  all, 
and  receive  an  answer  to  a  letter  I  sent  a  few  days 
ago  .  .  .  then  I  can  open  my  life  freely  to  you 
and  to  this  dear  child  that  truly  I  love  as  I  never 
knew  I  could  love.  Most  precious  Mother,  as  they 
call  you,  will  you  trust  me  a  few  days  longer  before 
I  ask  you  anything?  Will  you  wait  as  I  said,  my 
little  Spring  Glory  ..." 

"  Mother's  name  and  mine  is  Roper."  The  girl 
got  it  out  with  a  rush. 

"  Roper,  father  was  Graham  P.  Roper,  and  I've 
been  dying  to  tell  you  all  the  time.  We're  the 
Ropers  of  Ladybird.  I'm  so  glad  it's  off  my 
mind." 

She  twined  an  arm  into  the  young  man's,  and 


SAMARITAN  MARY  281 

expected  him  to  say  something,  but  he  only  stared 
as  if  struck  dumb. 

"  Roper !  Graham  P.  Roper !  You're  not  joking, 
are  you  ?  I  mentioned  that  name  once  before.  Was 
it  to  you,  Spring?  Oh,  surely  .  .  .  when  you 
wrote  my  letter  for  me.  .  .  .  Tell  me,  didn't  I  men- 
tion that  name  to  you  ?  " 

He  was  almost  indignantly  insistent. 

"  We  never  said  my  real  name  once  in  the  whole 
time,"  she  said,  without  understanding  anything 
but  the  fact  that  he  was  thoroughly  angry. 

"  But  .  .  .  but  didn't  I  mention  the  fact,  when 
referring  to  the  business  about  Blessing,  that  the 
people  I  was  chasing  to  ...  to — oh,  good  God  .  .  . 
it's  too  awful !  Mary  knew,  anyway." 

"Is  it  something  troubling  you,  Mr.  Pendren?" 
The  sweetest  woman  in  the  world  began  to  tremble 
with  the  girl. 

"  Trouble?  It's  .  .  .  oh,  I  don't  know  what  it 
is !  I'll  have  to  go  and  work  this  out  a  bit  before 
I  can  explain  to  you."  He  walked  away  slowly,  his 
feet  dragging.  In  the  distance  was  a  patch  of  amber 
light  where  fields  were  shimmering  in  the  rising 
moon-flame  and  he  went  towards  it. 


CHAPTER  XXV 

AND  into  the  moon-flame  that  spread  over  field 
and  house  and  roadway,  she  came  to  him  presently, 
as  a  softening  breeze,  trembling,  pulsing  with  deli- 
cate life. 

He  was  sitting  on  the  ground,  reviewing  what 
had  happened  to  him  lately — the  things  mazed  to- 
gether by  Fate  so  marvelously.  He  was  surprised 
that  he  could  take  this  new  turn  of  fortune  so 
calmly.  He  wondered  that  he  had  never  heard 
Spring's  real  name  mentioned.  It  seemed  unbe- 
lievable that  the  weeks  could  have  gone  by  without 
someone  having  spoken  it.  The  reason  why  he  had 
not  been  allowed  to  hear  it  now  seemed  clear. 
Mary,  and  even  Spring  herself,  he  managed  to  con- 
vince himself,  had  been  playing  a  game  with  him. 

The  sight  of  Spring  coming  towards  him  across 
the  pitched  moonlight  stirred  him. 

But  the  inherent  fight  in  him,  and  the  ardor  which 
never  cools  until  it  has  had  a  sudden  outlet,  gave 
him  an  impulse  to  meet  her  as  he  would  have  met 
a  weak  enemy.  He  knew  how  strong  he  was  to 
strike,  and  to  turn  all  to  his  own  ends. 

His  father's  fight  was  his,  he  knew  that,  and  it 
282 


SAMARITAN  MARY  283 

would  be  a  very  easy  matter  to  do  as  he  had  orig- 
inally intended.  Of  course  he  could,  if  he  liked,  go 
away  and  laugh  at  the  idea  of  these  sensitive  beings 
so  full  of  sweet  femininity  ever  being  able  to  make 
legal  claims  on  him,  or  his  father,  or  understand  the 
situation,  which  would  enable  them  to  make  those 
claims.  Even  if  they  did  understand  it,  they  would 
as  soon  think  of  facing  a  law-court  as  they  would 
of  going  about  the  streets  unclothed  and  un- 
ashamed. 

The  impulse  to  meet  Spring  brusquely  died  in 
him  as  she  came  to  him,  looking  into  his  face  as 
she  had  always  done,  and  seeing  through  him  as  no 
one  else  had  ever  done.  He  could  not  fight  her.  "Be- 
tween them  suddenly  there  rose  a  sword  of  justice, 
pointing  down  to  strike  if  he  forgot  the  responsi- 
bility of  the  best  thing  ever  given  to  him,  that  of  his 
pure  love  for  her  and  of  her  pure  love  for  him. 
There  in  her  eyes  he  saw  the  pity  for  his  griev- 
ances, the  motherly  tenderness  of  sweet  protection. 
In  the  face  near  him,  as  he  rose  to  his  feet,  there 
was  sympathy,  unselfishness,  and  something  else. 
Was  it  fear?  It  seemed  like  it;  but  it  was  the  fear 
that  he  was  suffering. 

"If  you  would  only  let  me  understand  just  what 
it  is,"  she  said  in  a  low  whispering  voice. 

And  the  strong  man  in  him  replied: 

"  It  is  so  little,  and  so  great.    Yes,  great.    I  have 


284  SAMARITAN  MARY 

just  discovered  that!  Little,  because  you  are  a 
handful  of  babies  who  find  life  a  mere  game  and 
cannot  understand  anything  that  is  heavy  about  it. 
And  great  .  .  .  because  ...  in  you  all  I  have 
found  something  so  big,  so  satisfying,  that  I  know 
I  cannot  live  without  it.  Spring,  did  you  not  under- 
stand that  .  .  .  you  and  your  precious  mother  and 
Christine  and  Elsa  and  Prue  were  the  crowd  I  was 
sent  down  here  to  fight?  " 

The  moon-flame  shivered  in  her  eyes.  One  hand 
went  out  to  him,  then  fell  lifeless  at  her  side. 

"  Do  you  mean  .  .  .  mean  that  all  these  years 
you  have  been  living  on  the  money  that  really  be- 
longed to  my  father  ?  " 

"  Not  altogether;  but  I  must  admit  that  some- 
where further  back  in  the  generations  something 
went  crooked.  It  wasn't  even  your  father's  father; 
it  was  before  that.  The  original  Graham  Roper 
evidently  had  one  son  and  one  daughter.  The 
son  disappeared  and  was  never  traced.  Then  the 
daughter  married  against  her  father's  wishes  and 
also  lost  sight  somehow  of  the  family  fortune. 
Later  her  husband  worked  it  so  that  their  son  reaped 
the  whole  fortune,  and  from  then  to  my  father's  time 
the  thing  has  come  on  in  turn.  Your  side  is  evi- 
dently the  direct  line,  through  the  son,  which  ought 
to  have  legitimately  come  into  the  bulk  of  that  for- 
tune. But  your  father  probably  knew  nothing  of 


SAMARITAN  MARY  285 

this,  or  he  would  have  taken  out  a  case  long  ago. 
Anyway  the  whole  thing  would  have  to  be  proved 
in  court,  of  course." 

Spring  was  just  staring  at  him  all  the  time  he 
was  speaking,  and  now  she  drew  back,  very  much 
upset. 

"  Court  ?  Our  family  in  court  ?  Why,  mother 
would  never  stand  that.  Besides,  if  .  .  .  if  we  took 
the  money  it  would  mean  that  you  would  be  the 
poor  people." 

u  Precisely,  though  I  must  admit  that  things 
would  not  be  quite  at  such  a  low  level,  even 
then.  That  is  not  what  worries  me  now.  Great 
heavens  ...  ! " 

Looking  at  her  across  a  little  strip  of  light,  he 
realized  how  she  would  take  her  rightful  place  in 
the  world  even  as  she  would  have  done  long  ago 
had  her  father  been  recognized  as  the  direct  de- 
scendant of  old  Graham  Roper.  The  claims  he 
had  already  put  in  to  take  and  keep  her  affection 
seemed  an  impudence  on  his  part,  and  what  was 
more,  they  could  easily  be  misconstrued  by  every- 
body who  knew  that  he  had  anticipated  taking  her 
to  live  with  his  sister  in  New  York.  At  the  same 
instant  he  became  aware  of  the  certain  things  he 
had  written  recently  to  his  sister  and  to  another 
lady  whose  claims  on  him  might  be  justified  and 
upheld  in  every  court  in  the  land.  Those  certain 


286  SAMARITAN  MARY 

things  blazed  at  him  now,  quivering  with  the  real 
truth.  He  felt  sick  at  heart  as  he  thought  of  them, 
for  they  were  the  direct  evidence  of  his  plans  for 
the  girl's  future  and  his  own.  In  asking  his  sister 
to  stand  in  with  Spring  and  let  her  enjoy  life  as  a 
companionable  subordinate  of  the  household  he  had 
only  meant  to  give  the  girl  a  place  till  he  had  worked 
things  out  with  the  lady  to  whom  he  was  bound 
in  another  way;  also  to  write  to  the  latter  and 
plead  the  cause  of  his  own  happiness  and  that  of 
Spring.  In  the  face  of  what  had  now  happened  he 
could  only  see  himself  as  a  schemer  and  as  someone 
chasing  a  fortune  through  the  medium  of  this  inex- 
perienced, fresh-hearted  girl. 

Of  course  it  could  only  be  thought  of  in  one  way. 
He  had  deliberately  laid  out  the  whole  thing. 
Knowing  that  there  was  a  justifiable  case  for  this 
family  if  the  fellow  Blessing  could  run  his  scheme 
through,  and  prove  what  was  apparently  staring 
them  all  in  the  face,  he  had  to  all  intents  and  pur- 
poses, for  his  financial  welfare,  played  on  the  girl's 
innocence,  got  into  the  sacred  precincts  of  her  heart 
and  home,  and  the  rest  would  not  be  merely 
guessing. 

With  these  dancing  visions  before  him,  Pendren 
still  saw  Spring  in  her  place  in  the  world.  The  fact 
of  her  having  said  that  she  wanted  to  go  to  New 
York  because  he  was  going  seemed  a  small  matter 


SAMARITAN  MARY  287 

when  he  heard  her  words  questioning  the  truth  of 
others  having  enjoyed  a  fortune  whilst  her  father 
and  mother  and  little  sisters  had  scraped  along  on 
what  they  could  gather,  almost  as  birds  of  the  field 
might  have  done.  She  was  still  standing  there  in 
the  moon-flame.  And  so  he  waited,  with  just  that 
space  of  light  between  them.  He  knew  only  too 
well  what  it  was  he  would  have  to  say  presently, 
but  he  could  not  bring  that  torture  to  his  brain  for 
a  little  while. 

"  It  means  .  .  . "  Spring  began  on  her  own  ac- 
cord, "  it  means  that  mother  could  go  to  town.  She 
has  always  loved  the  lights  and  the  big  buildings 
and  the  rush  that  one  watches  from  a  high  win- 
dow. She  has  been  there  before,  of  course,  but 
it  is  so  long  ago,  and  then  she  only  lived  in  a  very 
small  place  right  down  on  Twenty-third  Street. 
Oh  ...  the  children  could  go,  too,  and  we  would 
have  a  place  up  ever  so  many  stairs  and  a  janitor 
and  .  .  ." 

Her  innocence,  her  belief  in  trivial  happinesses, 
surprised  him. 

"  You  remember  that  morning,  Spring,"  he  said 
quietly,  "  when  I  spoke  of  running  you  up  to  New 
York,  and  letting  you  order  everything  pretty  and 
suitable  from  the  big  stores  ?  Well,  it  would  just 
be  that  for  you  .  .  .  and  for  your  mother,  and  for 
Elsa,  and  Prue,  and  Christine,  and  the  rest  of  them. 


288  SAMARITAN  MARY 

It  would  be  every  bit  what  I  have  said  .  .  .  with 
your  own  purse  in  your  hand,  and  your  right  to 
decide  how  much  you  paid  or  enjoyed.  It  would 
be  the  beginning  of  a  proper  existence  for  you  all, 
and  .  .  ." 

With  a  little  excited  gesture  Spring  stopped  him. 

"  Oh,  it  would  be  just  one  of  my  dream  stories 
coming  true !  Do  you  remember  the  afternoon  that 
we  talked  across  the  passage  and  we  played  that 
game  of  guessing?  You  were  ever  so  stupid,  but 
couldn't  help  it,  I  have  found  out  since,  because 
your  head  had  been  shamefully  knocked  about. 
Well  ...  I  told  you  then  of  my  most  perfect 
dreams  and  we  said  they  might  be  some  of  the1 
things  that  couldn't  possibly  happen.  But  one  has 
happened,  hasn't  it  ?  " 

Slowly  he  answered,  watching  her  mouth  and 
eyes. 

"  Yes  ...  it  has  happened,  but  .  .  .  there  is 
this  in  it.  The  dream  we  began  to  plan  for  the 
city,  and  the  shops,  and  the  soft  shades  of  silks 
and  crepes  for  you,  Spring  ...  is  only  part  of  the 
great  thing  that  is  going  to  happen.  The  other 
part  .  .  .  our  part  together  ..." 

He  was  going  very  slowly  now  because  it  was  the 
ground  that  seemed  so  uncertain  under  his  feet 
"...  well,  it  won't  be  exactly  the  same." 

"  Not   the   same  ?    You   mean   that   what   you 


SAMARITAN  MARY  289 

wanted  to  give  me  will  be  mine  really  and  not  just 
kind  of  loaned.  You  mean  that.  ..." 

Across  the  beam  of  light  he  went  to  her  and 
stood  at  her  shoulder,  but  withheld  his  hands. 

"  I  mean,  Spring,  that  the  bulk  of  my  father's 
money  really  belongs  to  you,  and  because  of  that 
my  little  plans  for  pleasure  in  New  York  must  be 
slightly  altered." 

"  Like  being  real  enemies  ?  "  Spring  began  to 
throb  with  uncertainty.  "  I  read  something  like 
that  once.  They  called  it  the  family  feud,  and 
everything  was  smashed  up  most  horribly,  and  one 
brother  took  all  the  money  from  the  younger  one 
because  he  had  been  away  for  years.  It  was  a  cruel 
thing  to  do,  because  there  were  little  children  just 
like  Prue  and  Christine  ..." 

The  sweetness  of  her  voice  and  the  trembling  of 
the  sympathy  in  her  whole  being  made  him  put 
out  one  hand  to  her. 

"  Spring,  it  is  just  so  with  this  dream  story  that 
is  really  happening.  We've  got  to  play  fair  to  those 
little  children  and  to  you.  You  shall  go  to  New 
York  and  have  things  just  as  I  planned,  but  the 
difference  in  it  now  is  ...  that  I  shall  not  go  with 
you  or  have  the  blessed  joy  of  ordering  your 
things." 

"Because  you  will  not  have  the  money,  you 
mean.  Because  we  have  taken  it  from  you  like 


290  SAMARITAN  MARY 

that  horrid  elder  brother.  .  .  .  Oh,  I  couldn't  enjoy 
a  thing!  Not  one  little  thing!  " 

Childishly  she  went  right  up  to  him  and  laid  her 
face  against  the  sleeve  of  his  coat. 

"  There  is  something  to  separate  us  ...  besides 
this  wretched  money,  Spring,"  he  said  quietly, 
"  something  that  you  would  not  understand." 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

MILES  back  in  Mary  Settler's  house  there  had 
been  but  little  progress  except  as  far  as  Mrs.  Huckle- 
bury  Carr  was  concerned. 

Somewhere  near  six  o'clock  in  the  evening  she 
awakened  from  a  sleep  of  absolute  babyhood  and 
had  found  Mary  adjusting  the  shades  so  that  there 
might  be  a  little  more  light  and  air  in  the 
room. 

Mrs.  Carr  turned  her  plump  wrists  outwards  in 
a  splendid  yawn  and  let  her  satisfaction  run  down 
to  her  very  toes. 

"  Say,  this  is  top-hole,  Miss  Settler,"  she  said. 
"  If  Lance  put  in  a  week  or  two  of  this  kind  of 
thing  it  would  be  the  making  of  him.  What  time 
is  it?" 

Mary  rested  her  arms  on  the  foot  of  the  bed. 

"  According  to  some  folks,  Mrs.  Hucklebury, 
it's  time  a  move  was  made  in  the  direction  of  where 
this  piece  of  trouble  is  going  to  be  felt  the  most. 
I'd  like  a  word  on  that  same  if  you  won't  be  en- 
couraging that  particular  hurry  same  as  somebody 
else  is,  now  in  my  front  parlor." 

291 


292  SAMARITAN  MARY 

Mrs.  Carr  sat  up  and  laughed.  Her  hair  was 
mostly  down  her  back  and  her  shoes  lay  in  different 
directions  across  the  floor. 

"  I  can  see  Alys  without  looking  at  her.  She  has 
powdered  her  face  nine  times  in  her  vanity-bag 
mirror  and  said  to  Huckle :  '  I  am  positively  burn- 
ing to  get  this  business  through.  Please  see  if  you 
can  get  Pearl  to  wake  up  and  let  us  order  the  car ! '  " 
She  laughed  again.  "  Now  I  am  one  of  those  per- 
sons who  do  as  I  like.  If  I  gave  in  to  Alys  or  my 
husband  even  just  the  once  I  should  never  have  the 
courage  to  stick  to  my  own  opinions  again.  Now 
I  gather  from  all  this  that  there  is  more  in  my 
brother's  game  than  he  has  really  allowed.  I've 
expected  there  is  a  woman  in  his  case  as  much  as 
Alys  thinks  she's  in  it,  and  when  he  wrote,  hedging 
and  asking  me  if  I  could  chaperon  a  kind  of  com- 
panion to  my  own  children,  I  fancied  there  was 
fire  about.  First  thing  though,  Miss  Settler,  I  must 
talk  to  you  .  .  .  and  I  can't  for  the  life  of  me 
hurry.  Please  send  my  husband  to  me  and  arrange 
it  that  we  put  up  here  for  the  night.  Alys  can  have 
this  room  and  I'll  take  that  stretcher  in  the  front 
room.  The  morning  will  show  us  more  light  than 
we  can  get  out  of  anything  at  this  time  of  the  day. 
If  we  are  not  inconveniencing  you,  Miss  Settler, 
will  you  be  so  good  as  to  fix  things  for  us  to  stay 
over?" 


SAMARITAN  MARY  293 

Mary's  face  widened. 

"  Clara  will  be  glad  to  do  what  service  she  can 
with  your  hair  and  dressing,"  she  said  almost  ex- 
citedly. "  I  propose  that  I  deal  with  the  rest  of 
things  myself.  Now  your  husband  ..." 

"  Oh,  I'll  manage  him  beautifully.  He's  always 
tired,  so  that  I  expect  he  will  be  glad  to  take  the 
car  to  the  nearest  hotel.  Please  send  him  in." 

The  matter  was  even  then  being  discussed  in  the 
front  parlor. 

"  It's  too  bad  of  Pearl  to  sleep  so  long,  Huckle. 
With  this  matter  on  hand  we  ought  to  have  left  for 
Bird  Town  hours  ago." 

"  The  whole  thing  is  most  alarming,"  said 
Huckle. 

"  Then  wake  Pearl  and  let  us  go  through  with 
it." 

"  Wake  Pearl?  My  dear  Alys,  I  never  heard  of 
such  a  thing." 

"  Nonsense.  If  you  can't  get  Pearl  to  see  the 
seriousness  of  this  affair,  we  will  simply  leave  her 
behind  and  go  on  at  once." 

"  Go  on  to  a  place  called  Bird  Town,  or  some 
such  name  as  that,  and  leave  Pearl  behind?  Why, 
Alys,  have  a  little  sense.  I've  never  left  Pearl  one 
night  in  the  whole  of  our  married  lives." 

"  Then  insist  that  she  hurries  now,  and  let  us 
get  away." 


294  SAMARITAN  MARY 

Hucklebury  yawned.  "  I'll  see  what  I  can  do,  but 
I  should  never  dream  of  trying  to  wake  her." 

Just  then  Mary  announced  Mrs.  Carr's  intentions. 

Mr.  Hucklebury  Carr  left  to  consult  his  wife 
and  Mary  stayed  to  appease  the  woman  in  the 
parlor. 

"  It  might  be  as  well,  ma'am,  if  you  were  to 
kind  of  settle  in  your  mind  just  what  kind  of  a 
program  you'd  like  best,  seeing  that  Mrs.  Huckle 
has  made  up  her  mind  to  stop  over.  If  you'll  allow 
me,  I'll  just  get  Clara  to  fix  you  up  with  a  wash 
and  a  clean  towel,  and  when  we've  sorted  out  this 
muddle  we'll  all  be  much  happier  in  our  minds." 

To  this  the  lady-in-chief  replied  in  a  mollified  tone. 

"  The  whole  thing  is  so  upsetting,  Miss  Settler," 
she  said.  "  I  know  in  your  womanly  heart  you 
would  never  see  me  turned  out  of  my  rightful  posi- 
tion because  of  a  girl  who  ..." 

"  I  been  fighting  for  Spring  and  her  ma  all 
through,"  Mary  remarked  calmly,  "  and  I've  got  to 
admit  to  parceling  those  two  up,  same  as  if  they 
were  a  pair  of  gloves  only  made  to  go  together, 
and  one  no  use  without  the  other.  But  say,  if  I'd 
known  ..." 

"  One  minute,  my  dear  Miss  Settler.  We  are 
all  anxious  that  you  should  have  your  due  as  re- 
gards trying  to  settle  things.  Given,  that  this 
girl  .  .  ." 


SAMARITAN  MARY  295 

"  Miss  Spring  Glory  Roper,"  interrupted  Mary 
with  some  fire. 

"  Sounds  like  a  sunset,  or  a  new  sunshade  color," 
came  flippantly  from  Mrs.  Lancelot.  Mary 
bounded. 

"  You  get  me,"  she  said.  "  Sunset  or  sunshade, 
it's  all  the  same  when  you  get  in  touch  with  one 
of  that  family.  Young  Lancelot  now  he  jes' 
turned  out  his  mind  for  a  thorough  spring-clean 
when  he  got  ideas  from  that  lamb.  Sakes  alive, 
ma'am,  how  that  young  man  changed.  ..." 

"  I  know.  Oh,  I  know  he  has ! "  Almost  in 
tears  Mrs.  Lancelot  broke  out  afresh.  Then  she 
shook  herself  together  and  tried  Mary  again.  "  It 
might  be  managed  to  make  certain  payments  to  the 
Ropers  if  they  would  forget  this  miserable  busi- 
ness of  ...  of  his  peculiar  attachment  to  the 
girl." 

Mary  smiled. 

"  'T wouldn't  be  much  use,  Mrs.  Pendren,  ma'am. 
The  peculiar  attachment,  as  you  are  pleased  to  call 
it,  and  which  we  all  encouraged  here  .  .  .  not 
knowing  you  had  first  rights  to  Q.  L.  P.  .  .  .  is 
more  likely  to  turn  out  high-class  quality  that  will 
stretch  as  far  as  from  here  to  heaven." 

"  You  are  leaving  me  entirely  out  of  the  ques- 
tion, Miss  Settler." 

There  was  some  sharpness  in  the  woman's  words, 


296  SAMARITAN  MARY 

but  Mary  knew  she  had  the  right  end  of  the  argu- 
ment. 

"  Seems  to  me  you  hold  a  claim  worth  all  that 
might  belong  to  Spring  and  her  ma,"  she  went  on 
carefully. 

"  Which  you  are  all  trying  to  steal  from  me," 
almost  sobbed  the  lady. 

"  Begging  your  pardon  .  .  .  but  might  I  ask, 
ma'am,  if  you  don't  put  more  honest  feelings  into 
the  matter  of  that  hard  cash  as  is  really  belonging 
to  the  Roper  bunch  than  into  the  affection  of  Lance- 
lot himself?" 

Mrs.  Lancelot  Pendren  turned  from  her.  "  I 
don't  understand  you,"  she  said  as  Mrs.  Huckle- 
bury  Carr  came  into  the  room,  refreshed  and 
smiling. 

"  Did  Mr.  Pendren  ever  really  explain — about 
me  to  you  ?  "  she  asked. 

Mary  shook  her  head.  "  Didn't  need  that !  The 
concern  in  the  camp  over  that  letter  .  .  .  well,  it 
jest  about  up  and  shook  trouble  at  us  without  us 
saying  a  word.  There's  things  run  too  deep,  ma'am, 
times,  to  let  us  ask  questions." 

"  Then  perhaps  we  had  better  start  at  the  be- 
ginning, Pearl,  and  explain." 

She  looked  across  at  Mrs.  Carr,  who  waited  cheer- 
fully at  the  door. 

"  Let  us  move  an  amendment,"  said  that  smiling 


SAMARITAN  MARY  297 

lady.  "  Huckle  has  gone  to  sleep  on  your  good 
bed,  Miss  Settler,  and  the  Lord  only  knows  when 
we  can  get  on.  I  never  dream  of  waking  him." 

There  was  a  merry  twinkle  in  her  eye,  and  Mary 
left  the  room  because  she  knew  that  Clara  was  just 
about  breaking  her  neck  round  the  corner  of  the 
passage. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

"  Now  then,"  said  Mrs.  Hucklebury  Carr  to  her 
husband,  "  tell  Bricker  to  let  the  machine  out  to 
a  full  gallop.  I  mean  of  course  to  do  some  travel- 
ing and  get  this  business  fixed  before  we  see  another 
night.  Huckle,  give  your  voice  a  little  exercise  on 
that  speaking  tube  and  show  Miss  Settler  how  we 
do  things  up  our  way.  Speed  her  up  and  pare  the 
corners  clean  as  you  can.  Gee!  if  ever  I  get  into 
anyone  else's  love  affairs  again  may  I  be  asleep  and 
dreaming.  After  Alys's  fifth  attack  of  hysterics, 
I  should  call  it  good  going  to  do  the  trip  under  time 
limit.  Are  you  comfortable,  Miss  Hopkins  ?  " 

In  the  car  were  Mary  Settler  and  Clara  Hopkins, 
together  with  the  visitors  of  the  day  before.  Mrs. 
Huckle  had  thought  it  a  great  scheme  to  take  Mary 
and  Clara  for  a  run  down  to  Bird  Town  and  to 
Ladybird  Farm  to  see  the  finish  of  the  drama  they 
had  been  so  much  concerned  in.  By  the  look  of 
things  it  was  evident  that  some  definite  conclusion 
had  been  arrived  at,  and  Mary  herself  was  more 
pleased  than  she  could  say  all  at  once.  She  and 
Clara  sat  hunched  inside  the  tonneau  looking  as  if 
they  were  part  of  the  machinery  itself  and  could 

298 


SAMARITAN  MARY  299 

take  no  unwise  license  such  as  leaning  too  far  this 
way  or  that,  or  giving  the  slightest  occasion  for 
losing  their  balance  over  the  rutty  parts  of  the 
road. 

It  was  the  first  time  that  either  of  the  two  coun- 
try women  had  ever  stepped  inside  an  automobile, 
and  the  sensation  of  such  a  thing  very  nearly  stupe- 
fied Clara  into  a  kind  of  "  mal-de-mer." 

"  I'm  just  .  .  .  right,"  she  said  in  answer  to 
Mrs.  Carr's  question,  but  all  the  same  she  did  not 
look  it. 

When  the  car  took  the  long  open  road  in  frantic 
little  bounds,  perhaps  a  trifle  over  regulation  speed 
and  sufficiently  unsteady  to  start  the  whole  crowd 
swaying  from  side  to  side,  Clara  took  her  move- 
ments from  Mary  Settler.  The  good  woman  was 
speechless,  under  a  mood  of  thankfulness  that  had 
suddenly  grown  upon  her  during  the  night.  To  her 
the  whole  of  her  life  was  just  opening  to  the  full 
like  a  precious  rose  spread  to  the  sun,  and  the  cool- 
ness of  the  winds  that  traveled  kindly  past  it.  Clara 
thought  that  Mary  was  trying  to  adjust  her  mental 
bearing  to  the  terrific  speed  of  the  car,  and  there- 
fore she  switched  on  certain  constituents  in  her  own 
temperament  that  had  never  been  called  upon  before. 

"  You  are  not  too  crowded?  "  asked  Mrs.  Huckle, 
again  leaning  forward  from  her  own  perch  on  a 
little  shelf  of  a  seat  that  folded  away  when  not  in 


300  SAMARITAN  MARY 

use  and  made  quite  a  decent  thing  of  a  journey  so 
long  as  the  occupier  did  not  mind  being  dragged 
sideways  along  the  road. 

Clara  said,  with  fortitude,  that  she  was  "  not 
a  mite  too  crowded,"  and  the  little  smiling  lady 
turned  to  Mary. 

"  This  will  do  you  all  the  good  in  the  world,  Miss 
Settler." 

Mary  answered  steadily,  though  her  balance  was 
not  altogether  in  the  right  direction. 

"  More  than  one  body  has  a  right  to  expect,  Mrs. 
Huckle,  in  so  short  a  time  knowin'  you.  Spring  and 
her  ma  will  as  near  shed  their  skins  in  excitement 
as  anything  they've  done  yet  when  they  hear  this 
rattle  comin'  'long  the  road." 

"  And  the  '  happy-ever-after '  part  to  follow," 
laughed  Mrs.  Carr,  looking  at  Mrs.  Lancelot  Pen- 
dren  in  the  corner. 

The  lady-in-chief  refused  to  take  any  part  in  the 
conversation  since  a  certain  development  in  the  af- 
fair the  night  before.  That  development  was  even 
now  nearing  its  completion,  and  she  was  trying  to 
work  it  to  her  own  satisfaction  some  way  or  other. 

The  road  ran  on  interminably.  Clara  Hopkins 
bobbed  and  apologized  and  trod  on  people  in  her 
displacement.  Presently  she  put  out  a  hand  and  held 
on  to  Mary,  and  so,  united  in  sympathy,  they  con- 
tinued their  journey  together.  Things  went  flying 


SAMARITAN  MARY  301 

past  them  so  quickly  that  they  thought  some  of  them 
had  been  thrown  from  the  fields  on  purpose.  Even 
the  stately  birch  trees  and  maples  seemed  to  get 
themselves  up  in  a  mighty  raging  wind  and  hurl 
past  vertically  and  parallel  to  the  telegraph  posts 
which  positively  danced  out  of  the  way  of  the  car 
as  it  approached  them. 

In  all  her  life  Clara  Hopkins  had  never  had  such 
an  experience.  It  was  as  surprising  as  Benjamin's 
courting  of  her. 

He  had  been  left  at  home  to  look  after  the  farm 
and  Clara's  own  small  homestead,  as  well  as  give 
an  eye,  under  strict  orders  from  Mary,  to  Cora  and 
the  new  baby.  Mary  would  not  consent  to  leave  the 
district  till  all  these  things  had  been  arranged;  even 
Hek  Dean,  under  the  shadow  of  Liz  Hetty's  wing 
as  well  as  Liz  Hetty's  temper,  came  in  for  consid- 
eration. 

Mary  was  thinking  of  the  things  she  had  left 
behind.  Liz  Hetty  began  to  sandwich  herself  be- 
tween the  dancing  field  ahead  and  the  little  patch 
of  fruit  and  onions  at  home.  Mary  was  feeling  it 
keenly  that  she  should  be  sitting  there  in  an  auto- 
mobile with  no  idea  as  to  how  things  had  progressed 
at  home  for  several  hours. 

The  bare  fact  that  she  had  left  the  place  when 
Cora  was  not  responsible  and  Mark  out  of  work, 
and  Hek  Dean  under  several  kinds  of  discomfort 


302  SAMARITAN  MARY 

through  the  good  but  firm  attentions  of  Liz  Hetty, 
made  her  palpitate  inwardly.  She  had  come  away 
without  even  sending  any  special  word  to  Hek; 
without  even  stepping  over  the  cultivation  lot  and 
saying  a  parting  word.  Perhaps  it  was  the  terrific 
rate  of  traveling  that  made  her  afraid  now.  She 
wasn't  really  going  away,  she  told  herself,  for  any 
length  of  time,  but  she  seemed  to  be  passing  so 
quickly  through  the  country  that  it  was  almost  as 
if  the  last  years  of  her  life  were  speeding  away 
from  her.  Perhaps  Hek  would  not  have  time  to 
notice  her  absence.  The  thought  gave  her  some 
relief,  but  at  the  same  time  it  helped  on  another 
totally  different  kind  of  feeling.  She  was  not  alto- 
gether happy  over  Hek.  Every  time  the  car  took  a 
turn  into  another  road  she  wanted  to  call  out  or 
to  stop  the  driver.  Right  back  there  Hek  Dean 
was  sitting  in  his  place,  perhaps  expecting  her  to 
drop  in,  or  to  hear  from  Cora  and  Mark  that  Mary 
had  "  stepped  over  for  a  spell  "  and  left  a  word  for 
him.  She  could  see  it  all  so  plainly. 

She  helped  Clara  right  herself  at  a  quick  turn  of 
the  machine  and  sat  back  again.  The  lady-in-chief 
was  sitting  with  her  eyes  shut  and  Mrs.  Carr  was 
talking  glibly  about  everything  that  she  could  think 
of.  But  the  rattle  in  Mary's  mind  went  on  with 
the  hum  of  the  wheels  and  the  engine. 

"  I  didn't  have  cause  to  leave  things  so  sudden," 


SAMARITAN  MARY  303 

she  said  to  herself.  "  I  didn't  have  cause  to  leave 
Hek,  or  Cora,  or  Mark  ..." 

Her  troubled  reflections  as  to  what  was  happening 
at  home  did  not  leave  her  until  Mrs.  Carr  shouted 
to  her  husband : 

"  Huckle,  I'm  sure  this  is  Bird  Town,  because  I 
have  suddenly  become  possessed  of  a  frantic  desire 
to  get  out  and  fly  in  search  of  something  to  eat." 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 

PENDREN  found  himself  gazing  in  the  sweet  face 
of  the  most  precious  mother.  Sufficient  was  it  for 
him  to  know  inwardly  that  in  those  clear  eyes  before 
him  there  was  neither  reproach  nor  accusation. 

The  words  he  had  heard  Mary  Settler  utter  once 
long  ago  while  he  lay  half-conscious  came  back  to 
him. 

"...  she  was  just  the  sort  of  human  creature  I 
was  expecting  after  knowing  Spring  for  a  night. 
One  of  the  kind  that  wears  big  eyes  in  her  head 
and  hardly  uses  'em  at  all  'cept  to  stare  at  you 
when  she  don't  know  what  to  say.  ..." 

Pendren  thought  that  Mary  had  outlined  this 
woman  as  though  she  had  taken  a  pencil  and  drawn 
her  very  features. 

He  waited  a  moment.  Then,  with  the  same  plead- 
ing, folded  hands  that  every  member  of  her  family 
used  when  trying  to  work  out  something  incompre- 
hensible, Spring's  mother  began  to  talk. 

"  Mr.  Pendren,  you  mustn't  take  too  much  notice 
of  what  Spring  says  when  she  tells  you  she's  caring 
and  anxious  to  fall  in  with  your  plans  for  the  city. 
I  think  she  has  got  it  all  like  a  story-book  in  her 

304 


SAMARITAN  MARY  305 

mind,  and  it's  certainly  true  that  she  .  .   .  likes  you 
more  than  any  man  she  knows,  but  then  ..." 

Pendren  had  guessed  that  Spring  saw  or  knew 
few  men  but  those  sometimes  employed  by  her 
mother  to  do  chores  about  the  place. 

"  You  are  trying  to  be  fair  to  me,  Mrs.  Roper," 
he  said. 

He  gathered  himself  together  to  say  to  her  what 
his  heart  and  soul  were  full  of. 

"  I  am  quite  ready  to  trust  the  look  in  Spring's 
face  and  to  know  that  once  she  places  her  love  .  .  . 
it  is  as  tightly  fixed  as  though  it  were  welded  there." 

He  stopped  nervously,  searching  mentally  for  a 
real  beginning  to  the  truth. 

"  Believe  me  ...  there  is  not  one  thing  wrong 
on  your  side,  Mrs.  Roper.  I — I  have  found  myself 
out  as  .  .  .  as  a  donkey  guided,  as  it  were,  by  the 
ears.  Last  night  I  learned  my  lesson  and  I  have 
come  here  to  repeat  some  of  it  to  you." 

Again  he  waited;  but  the  folded  hands  and  the 
wide  eyes  implored  him  to  go  on. 

"  I  told  you  last  night  before  I  broke  away  and 
went  to  the  fields  that  there  was  a  trouble  in  my 
mind  that  I  could  not  explain  to  you.  Well,  it  is 
that  trouble  that  has  got  to  be  made  clear  now,  and 
then  I  can  go  ...  yes,  I  suppose  there  would  be 
nothing  else  to  do  but  to  go." 

"  Do  you  mean  go  back  to  your  people  without 


3o6  SAMARITAN  MARY 

Spring?  You  must  not  mind  that,  Mr.  Pendren. 
She  is  so  young  and  will  possibly  understand  'later 
that  .  .  .  that  all  your  kindness  and  plans  were 
meant  in  just  a  friendly  way.  The  deeper  meaning 
of  love  has  not  yet  opened  for  her." 

He  was  silent  a  moment,  then  he  pulled  himself 
together,  speaking  smartly  to  get  things  on  to  the 
proper  road. 

"  I  came  to  this  part  of  the  country  some  time 
ago  to  find  out  a  certain  family  who  were  reported 
to  be  a  side  branch  of  our  family,  and  who  can 
claim,  if  they  want  to,  perhaps  two-thirds  or  nearly 
all  of  my  father's  fortune.  I  was  willing  to  fight 
them  tooth  and  nail.  Yes,  I  came  down  to  abuse 
their  rights,  to  laugh  at  them,  to  run  them  through 
every  court  in  the  land,  if  necessary,  even  to  the 
absolute  wasting  of  that  fortune  rather  than  see 
these  people  take  what  had  been  ours  for  so  long. 
Then  .  .  .  came  my  accident,  and  Spring's  revivi- 
fying part  in  my  life.  But  .  .  .  through  all  our 
merry  hours  in  Miss  Settler's  house — I  cannot  think 
why — Spring  withheld  her  real  name." 

He  waited  a  moment  longer ;  the  wide  eyes  looked 
afraid,  so  he  went  on  carefully. 

"  Yesterday  .  .  .  the  name  of  the  people  up 
against  my  family's  happiness  and  prosperity  came 
from  the  very  girl  for  whom  I  wanted  to  fight  this 
thing,  for  I  wanted  to  have  and  to  hold  her  against 


SAMARITAN  MARY  307 

all  odds,  to  see  her  in  fine  clothes — things  that  suited 
her  sweetness — and  to  watch  her  eyes  glow  because 
her  mother,  her  '  most  precious  mother,'  could  live 
a  life  of  ease  in  the  big  city.  The  name  Roper, 
the  name  of  the  family  I  had  come  to  fight — to 
rob — was  that  of  my  girl — my  little  Spring  Glory 
who  had  shown  me  the  real  true  meaning  of  life 
and  love.  ..." 

"  Do  you  mean  ...  we  are  the  side  branch 
of " 

"  I  mean  that  your  husband,  Graham  P.  Roper, 
ought  to  have  come  into  the  biggest  share  of  his 
father's  money,  which  had  never  come  to  his  father 
before  him  through  family  disputes  and  lost  ad- 
dresses. It  came  to  our  side  through  my  great- 
grandmother,  whose  husband  took  it  all  for  his  son, 
my  grandfather.  .  .  .  Oh,  it  is  all  very  complicated, 
but  the  fact  remains.  .  .  .  You  must  have  papers 
belonging  to  your  husband's  people,  surely.  ..." 

"  There  is  a  box,  but  I  have  never  looked  inside 
it.  Graham  said  it  was  the  record  of  a  most  misera- 
ble existence  of  his  father  and  grandfather  and  that 
as  long  as  we  had  enough  to  eat  we  need  never  bother 
over  it.  ...  Sometimes  I  wanted  to  break  it  open 
and  see  what  we  could  do  for  .  .  .  for  there  wasn't 
always  enough  for  the  children  to  eat.  ..." 

Her  eyes  closed  a  moment,  and  when  they  opened 
they  were  softer  than  the  blue  mists  of  night. 

* 


3o8  SAMARITAN  MARY 

"  Imagine  my  horror,"  Pendren  continued  des- 
perately, "  for  I  wished  above  all  things  to  play  fair 
to  the  precious  love  between  that  dear  girl  and  my- 
self ...  I  saw  myself  in  the  eyes  of  the  world  a 
thing  that  chases  the  heart  of  an  inexperienced  girl, 
so  that  I  might,  by  keeping  her  to  myself,  hold  the 
main  part  of  the  fortune  still.  That  is  how  it  ap- 
pears to  me  now  .  .  .  and  for  that  reason  I  rather 
welcome  now  the  fact  that  there  is  a  tie — a  tie  which 
bars  me  from  taking  Spring  away  from  you.  Yes, 
that  tie  from  which  I  wrote  asking  freedom  only 
the  other  day.  ..." 

Just  a  few  words  came  from  the  woman  in  her 
new  understanding. 

"  But  if  .  .  .  if  it  turns  out  that  Spring  cares 
more  for  you  than  for  this  money  .  .  .  she  would 
be  so  unhappy  ..." 

"  Spring  does  care,  thank  God !  But  the  world 
will  say  cruel  things,  perhaps  persuade  her  that  I 
managed  a  fine  coup  through  her  love.  No,  it  is 
better  that  I  withdraw  myself  from  this  matter,  once 
and  for  all." 

"  And  leave  my  girl  .  .  .  breaking  her  little 
heart?" 

"  Most  precious  Mother,  you  said  just  now  that 
it  is  all  like  a  story-book  in  her  mind.  Perhaps  it 
is.  She  will  find  the  realest  things  at  the  end  of 
the  book." 


SAMARITAN  MARY  309 

Passing  along  the  veranda,  he  went  to  find  the 
girl.  He  had  not  seen  her  at  all  since  the  talk  with 
her  in  the  moonlight.  Now  he  found  her  in  the 
shadiest  corner  with  a  troop  of  small  people 
sitting  on  the  floor  before  her  and  the  cuddley  baby 
on  her  knee. 

"  I  have  fixed  matters  with  your  mother,  Spring," 
he  said  sharply.  "  The  rest  can  be  done  by  what- 
ever solicitor  she  may  appoint.  Could  .  .  .  could 
you  dispense  with  these  small  folks  long  enough  to 
walk  with  me  across  the  fields  ?  I  want  to  see  what 
can  be  done  with  the  car.  It  may  not  be  able  to  be 
mended  in  time.  ..." 

"  You  are  going,  then  .  .  .  and  I  have  not 
fully  understood  just  what  we  are  all  to  do.  Oh, 
Mr.  Pendren  .  .  ."  she  had  never  become  used  to 
calling  him  anything  else,  "  is  it  the  something  that 
you  said  I  would  not  understand  that  is  sending  you 
away  so  quickly  ?  " 

"  Yes." 

The  children  ran  away  as  swiftly  as  rabbits  at 
a  word  from  Spring,  all  but  the  cuddley  baby  whom 
she  picked  up  and  held  in  her  arms. 

"  And  I  am  to  stay  here  and  not  go  with  you? 
To  wait  till  we  are  really  rich  and  then  pack  up  and 
go  to  town?  Will  I  see  you  then?  Will  it  be  very 
long  ?  Will  you  get  over  all  the  difficulties  and  meet 
us  very  soon  ?  " 


3io  SAMARITAN  MARY 

"  I  am  afraid  there  is  one  difficulty,"  he  said 
slowly,  "  that  we  could  not  get  over.  Spring,  I  had 
never  intended  you  to  work  with  my  sister.  That 
was  only  a  blind  till  we  saw  how  things  went.  I 
wanted  you  for  my  wife  .  .  .  for  my  little  play- 
fellow .  .  .  and  for  the  mother  of  all  the  little 
cuddley  things  that  might  come  along." 

He  ceased  speaking. 

"  Yes  ...  I  ...  I  would  like  so  much  to  be 
...  be  all  those  things  to  you,"  she  cried  eagerly. 
"  Going  to  town  with  you  in  any  kind  of  way  at  all 
would  have  been  just  perfect!  Oh,  Mr.  Pendren, 
even  if  I  couldn't  be  the  wife,  and  the  playmate,  and 
mother  to  the  most  precious  cuddley  babies,  could 
I  not  go  just  the  same !  Just  the  same  ?  " 

Pendren  started  but  did  not  touch  her.  The  child 
in  her  arms  acted  as  a  break  to  his  impetuosity. 

Her  eyes  wandered  from  his  as  sounds  of  traffic 
came  down  the  open  road  towards  the  cutting.  He 
followed  her  gaze  and  saw  the  auto,  with  Mary  and 
his  sister,  also  the  lady-in-chief  and  others  in  it. 
The  car  was  moving  slowly  towards  Ladybird 
Farm. 

"  The  reason  why  you  could  not  come,  just  the 
same,  Spring,  is  here  now  in  that  car — the  lady  sit- 
ting back  with  the  motor  coat.  .  .  .  Everything 
finishes  here." 

"  Town  folks  to  see  you !    Oh,  Mr.  Pendren,  and 


SAMARITAN  MARY  311 

I  cannot  go  back  with  you  because  .   .  .  because  of 
that  lady?" 

She  pressed  the  baby  to  her  heart,  and  young 
Pendren  turned  his  back  on  the  car  so  that  the  people 
in  it  would  not  immediately  recognize  him.  He 
wanted  a  few  more  minutes  with  Spring. 


CHAPTER  XXIX 

"  You  must  come,"  said  Pendren  presently. 
Spring  did  not  speak.  Already  the  car  containing 
the  city  folks  was  slowing  down  and  his  sister  and 
the  lady-in-chief  had  caught  sight  of  him  standing 
there  with  his  back  turned  towards  them. 

Spring  Roper  held  the  child  a  little  closer  and 
looked  at  him  out  of  eyes  deep  with  pain. 

"  I  .  .  .  can't  ..."  she  said  almost  beseechingly. 
"  It's  .  .  .  like  having  something  inside  of  me  all 
torn  so  that  I  can't  breathe  without  it  hurting  .  .  . 
it's  more  like  being  really  ill  than  anything." 

"  Poor  child !  "  said  Pendren,  aching  to  comfort 
her,  but  knowing  that  even  then  the  inmates  of  that 
grinding,  awful  piece  of  machinery  were  preparing 
to  rush  the  veranda  and  bombard  him  with  queries. 
He  hung  on  to  the  last  moments  with  the  girl  as 
if  they  were  the  dregs  of  a  cool  drink  after  the  pain 
of  thirst-racked  fever.  "  You  care  ...  so  much, 
Spring?  You  .  .  .  you  ..." 

"  I  ...  I  don't  know  what  it  is,"  Spring  breathed 
sobbingly,  "  but  it  means  a  dreadful  trouble,  I'm 
sure.  If  she  would  even  let  me  go  with  you  .  .  . 
just  for  a  little  time  .  .  .  long  enough  to  get  used 

312 


SAMARITAN  MARY  313 

to  things,  to  be  able  to  have  them  afterwards  .  .  . 
like  little  pebbles  or  stones  collected  on  a  beautiful 
beach  and  kept  as  the  memory  of  a  glorious  day 
in  the  sunshine.  If  she  would  only  say  I  might  go 
on  loving.  .  .  .  Oh,  it  could  never  harm  you  or 
her.  .  .  .  Perhaps  I  could  ask  her  .  .  .  yes,  I  might 
do  that.  Ask  her  to  let  me  have  you  sometimes  just 
to  speak  to  .  .  .  to  think  about  .  .  ." 

He  stopped  her  by  a  quick  movement  as  she 
turned  away.  His  hand  went  out  and  claimed  hers, 
even  as  Mrs.  Hucklebury  Carr  and  Mrs.  Lancelot 
Pendren  came  walking  towards  the  veranda. 

"  You  precious  thing,"  Pendren  whispered 
quickly.  "  You  dear,  precious  thing.  I  did  not 
think  it  was  so  ...  so  much  to  you.  I  wanted  you 
to  have  every  chance,  but,  by  Heaven  ...  let  the 
world  wag  a  thousand  tongues  ...  let  it  shout  my 
name  as  anything  it  likes  ...  let  them  all  go  down 
on  their  knees  and  beg,  beg,  beg  me  to  give  you 
up,  and  as  sure  as  God  made  you,  and  the  little  cud- 
dley  baby,  I  won't  give  you  up !  No,  Spring,  at  the 
last  moment  you  have  saved  me.  I  didn't  know 
what  I  was  doing  ..." 

He  was  breathless  when  Mrs.  Hucklebury  reached 
his  side,  pounced  upon  him,  and  kissed  him  briskly. 

"  You  darling  Lance,"  she  said,  then  half-whis- 
pered a  warning  which  Spring  heard  distinctly. 

"  Alys  is  out  for  murder  and  sudden  death.    She 


3i4  SAMARITAN  MARY 

is  going  to  have  satisfaction  for  her  massacred 
heart.  For  goodness'  sake,  Lance,  take  her  right 
out  to  the  country  as  far  as  you  can  get,  and  have 
the  thing  settled  once  and  for  all.  Is  this  Spring 
who  is  coming  to  stay  with  me " 

While  she  moved  towards  the  girl,  who  quickly 
put  down  the  baby  and  stepped  back  with  some 
nervous  hesitation  in  her  face  and  a  little  uncertain 
pain  still  in  her  eyes,  Pendren  found  himself  face 
to  face  with  Mary  Settler,  who  had  managed  some- 
how to  outstep  the  lady-in-chief  and  was  right  next 
to  him,  with  a  stream  of  information  bursting  from 
her  lips. 

"  There's  more  ingredients  goes  to  the  conditions 
and  the  making  of  that  girl's  future,  Mr.  Pendren, 
than  any  of  us  understood  when  first  I  started  things 
express,  for  a  reason  of  my  own.  Why,  here's  Clara 
Hopkins  in  it  too;  and  if  Clara  has  to  hop  into  the 
muss  like  a  dash  of  soda  to  give  things  a  rise,  well, 
there's  going  to  be  a  nice-looking  kinder  settlement 
afterwards." 

Young  Pendren  shook  hands  all  round  and  came 
to  the  lady-in-chief,  who  deliberately  laughed  as  she 
put  her  arms  out  to  embrace  him. 

"  Naughty  boy,  Lance,"  she  said  quietly  and 
briskly.  "  You  gave  us  all  a  turn.  Why,  I  even 
considered  your  letter  serious.  Miss  Settler,  too, 
gave  me  quite  a  wrong  impression.  I  was  going 


SAMARITAN  MARY  315 

to  be  most  dreadfully  upset  about  .  .  .  about  things ; 
but  now  I  see  the  true  state  of  the  case  I  have  come 
down  to  do  all  I  possibly  can  to  put  them  on  a 
proper  footing." 

"  That's  good,"  said  Pendren,  and  jovially  hit 
Hucklebury  Carr  on  the  shoulder  as  he  joined  the 
crowd. 

"  The  true  state  of  the  case,  as  you  say,  is  right 
here  before  us.  I  find  that  Mrs.  Roper  can 
claim " 

"  And  we  mustn't  be  mean  about  things !  "  inter- 
rupted Alys.  She  took  his  arm  familiarly.  "  I  am 
quite  ready  to  give  over  .  .  .  part  of  the  estate,  and 
even  more  than  that,  if  ...  we  can  just  persuade 
that  girl,  there,  that  you  had  to  act  perhaps  a  little 
unwisely  towards  her  to  get  to  the  truth  of  this 
affair.  Poor  Lance  .  .  .  did  you  have  a  very  bad 
fall?" 

Pendren,  taking  his  cue  from  the  light  in  Mary 
Settler's  eyes,  quickly  reassured  her. 

"The  most  delightful  tumble  of  my  life,  Alys! 
It  knocked  sense  into  me,  anyway,  where  I  had 
been  carrying  .  .  .  foolishness.  I  found  that  I 
never  really  loved  you  .  .  .  that  is,  not  more  than 
as  .  .  ." 

Here  Spring  and  Mrs.  Hucklebury  Carr  came 
into  focus  again.  The  girl's  eyes  were  shining  and 
her  lips  trembled;  but  she  wanted  to  understand  the 


3i6  SAMARITAN  MARY 

situation  because  of  her  rebellious  little  heart  which 
was  nearly  being  ruptured  with  the  uncertainty  of 
everything. 

"  Will  you  tell  me,"  she  began  softly,  interlacing 
her  fingers  and  with  her  warm  face  held  up  to  the 
taller  woman, — "  will  you  mind  my  asking  you  .  .  . 
are  you  very,  very  dear  and  near  to  him?  I 
mean,  somebody  like  .  .  .  like  a  mother,  for  in- 
stance ..." 

Mrs.  Hucklebury  Carr  exploded  into  peals  of 
laughter,  and  the  lady-in-chief  was  furious  to  the 
extent  of  nearly  losing  her  head. 

"Like  his  mother?  You  mean  his  wife,  I  sup- 
pose, but  you  dare  not  say  it.  You  are  a  wicked 
little  girl  and  you  are  to  blame  for  taking  advantage 

of  a  man  while  he  was  suffering  from — from " 

She  hesitated,  scarcely  daring  to  say  again  what  she 
had  said  in  Mary  Settler's  house  and  so  challenge 
more  of  Mrs.  Carr's  amusement. 

"  That's  what  it  was,  though  nobody  but  myself 
can  see  it ! "  she  declared  defensively.  "  Look  at 
him,  Huckle!  Pearl!  Lance  has  been  foolish  be- 
cause he  had  this  accident  while  under  stress  and 
worry.  You  must  understand  that,  Miss  Roper." 
She  flashed  round  at  the  girl,  and  continued : 

"  Mr.  Pendren  has  been  much  fretted  and  over- 
worked for  some  time  and  the  accident  has 
just  ..." 


SAMARITAN  MARY  317 

Another  peal  of  laughter  rippled  from  Mrs. 
Carr. 

Pendren  was  thoroughly  angry. 

"  Are  you  trying  to  make  out  that  I  am  crazy — 
mad,  Alys  ? "  he  demanded  quickly.  "  Answer 
me!" 

The  woman  shrugged  her  shoulders  with  an 
amazed  expression,  while  Spring  hid  her  eyes  on 
Mrs.  Carr's  shoulder. 

"  Not  crazy,  Lance,  but  just  a  little  unhinged, 
perhaps — by  all  this  worry  and  the  accident.  I 
would  not  dream  of  blaming  you,  seeing  that  ..." 

"  Never  mind  the  blame,"  shouted  Pendren. 
"  Tell  me  this :  Do  you  imply  that  .  .  .  that  my  ad- 
miration for  Miss  Roper  is  the  result  of  an  accident 
to  my  head  ?  Is  that  it  ?  Answer  me !  " 

Everybody  had  something  to  say.  Mrs.  Carr 
laughed  a  little  nervously,  and  her  husband  said 
something  quite  harmless.  Spring  breathed  a  ques- 
tion that  nobody  could  catch,  and  Mary  and  Clara 
broke  into  quick  undertones.  But  Mrs.  Lancelot 
Pendren  herself  had  to  answer  definitely. 

"  Yes  ...  I  think  it  must  be  something  like 
that,"  she  said. 

"  And  .  .  .  you  are  here,  to  .  .  .  to  be  kind  and 
consider  the  case  ?  To  run  me  home  again,  not  quite 
as  a  lunatic,  but  just  mildly  loco.  One  minute; 
don't  interrupt  me!  I'm  fighting  for  my  whole  life 


3i8  SAMARITAN  MARY 

now,  Alys  .  .  .  and  perhaps  for  yours.  You  prac- 
tically question  my  sanity?" 

"  In  the  matter  of  ...  this  infatuation,  cer- 
tainly," said  Alys,  now  firmly  assured  of  her  own 
ground. 

"  Then  if  there  is  a  question  of  my  not  being 
responsible  for  my  actions  since  the  accident,  there 
is  danger  ...  I  say  danger  for  you  in  being  tied 
to  me  for  life  under  such  conditions.  One  minute 
more  ...  do  not  open  your  lips."  His  attitude  was 
imperative. 

Mrs.  Lancelot  Pendren  drew  her  wraps  around 
her  as  if  she  were  cold.  Everybody  waited  ex- 
pectantly as  he  went  on  speaking. 

"  I  told  you  in  my  letter  that  I  wished  you  to 
hand  me  back  my  freedom.  It  was  after  the  acci- 
dent. Presumably  I  was  not  in  my  right  senses,  we 
will  put  it  that  way.  Now  I  take  that  freedom  be- 
cause you  yourself  have  questioned  the  fact  of  my 
sanity.  That  at  least  you  will  admit,  and  also  grant 
that  I  have  the  right  to  withhold  my  .  .  .  affection, 
seeing  that  it  is  not  to  be  relied  upon  .  .  .  after  the 
accident.  According  to  the  laws  of  nature  no 
lunatic  has  a  right  to  .  .  . " 

"  I  never  said  that  horrid  word,  Lance." 

"  Lunatic?  You  implied  it,  Alys.  I  do  not  wish 
to  ask  you  to  in  any  way  alter  your  opinion.  Who 
knows  .  .  . "  he  looked  at  Spring.  "  I  may  not  be 


SAMARITAN  MARY  319 

in  my  right  mind,  that  is  ...  the  mind  I  possessed 
when  I  left  the  city.  Certainly  my  brain  has  re- 
ceived a  shock  at  my  own  behavior,  but  if  the  mind 
I  carried  with  me  out  to  these  parts  was  the  right 
one,  then  the  change  is  a  decided  advantage.  I 
have  got  the  chance  to  make  up  a  fresh  mind,  and 
now  I  take  my  freedom  in  that  new  one,  leaving 
you  just  as  you  were,  and  still  are,  the  wife  of  my 
late  cousin.  So  our  engagement  must  now  be  con- 
sidered at  an  end — completely." 

For  a  few  moments  not  a  word  was  said.  Even 
Mary  Settler  held  her  peace  and,  for  the  first  time 
in  years,  Clara  began  to  wipe  her  eyes.  She  had 
caught  a  glimpse  of  Spring's  face,  which  shone  in 
an  ecstasy  of  purest  sweetness. 

Pendren  broke  the  silence. 

"  I  take  from  you,  Alys,  in  the  presence  of  these 
witnesses,  the  pledge  I  made  you  years  ago.  See- 
ing that  I  am  mentally  deficient,  I  need  recognize 
no  law  of  social  bond,  or  even  that  of  affection. 
And  .  .  ." 

He  walked  over  to  Mrs.  Carr,  who  was  holding 
Spring  in  her  arms. 

"  I  ask,  implore,  and  beseech  Miss  Roper,  in  her 
sweet  generosity,  to  accept  me  as  a  husband,  even 
at  the  risk  of  having  to  put  up  with  my  mental  ab- 
errations from  this  day  onward  to  the  end  of  my 
life." 


320  SAMARITAN  MARY 

Mrs.  Carr  put  Spring  into  his  outstretched  arms; 
he  drew  her  protectingly  to  him  and  over  her  shoul- 
der his  eyes  spontaneously  laughed. 

"  Consider  us  a  pair,"  he  said  gayly,  and  every- 
body except  the  lady-in-chief  joined  in  the  laugh. 

Mrs.  Hucklebury  Carr  made  a  quick  step  forward 
to  her  husband. 

"  For  the  sake  of  everything  blessed,  kiss  me, 
Huckle,"  she  cried.  "  I  feel  as  if  I  should  explode 
with  joy !  Alys,  you  played  too  high,  my  dear,  and 
now  you  must  go  back  again  and  .  .  .  well,  just  be 
mother  to  somebody  else." 

But  Alys  was  in  honest,  childish  tears.  Mary 
Settler  went  to  her  and  another  sorrowing  soul  was 
taken  into  her  big  charitable  heart.  With  true 
Samaritan  gentleness,  the  good  woman  talked 
quietly  to  her. 

"  Sure  it  often  happens  that  way,  Mrs.  Lancelot. 
You've  got  more  of  his  name  through  being  his 
cousin's  late  wife,  or  I  should  say  his  late  cousin's 
wife,  than  our  girl  Spring  there,  up  to  time  of 
closing  this  meeting;  and  as  sure  as  you  think  about 
it,  you'll  find  that  even  that  much  you'll  want  to 
get  rid  of  presently  when  another  man  comes  right 
along  looking  his  eyes  out  of  his  face  on  account 
of  not  being  able  to  see  you  quick  enough.  Spring 
wasn't  so  far  out  when  she  said  that  about  you 
motherin'  him,  near  and  dear.  ...  I  done  that  once 


SAMARITAN  MARY  321 

for  a  man  and  I  found  he  treated  me  same  as 
Lancelot  has  you.  Sure  it's  our  mistake,  maybe 
.  .  .  but  it's  what  we're  stacked  for.  You  go  on 
with  the  mother  principle  all  you  know,  till  you 
sight  the  other  chap  wearing  magnifying  glasses 
because  he's  missed  you  a  spell  and  can't  sit  down 
happy  till  he  has  you  up  against  his  watch  pocket." 

Over  her  shoulder  Mrs.  Lancelot  cried  heartily. 
Mary  turned  to  Clara. 

"  You  mind,  Clara,  what  I  said  about  that  old 
clock?  She  wasn't  his  wife  though  her  name  was 
Mrs.  Lancelot  Pendren.  Wasn't  that  topsy-turvy 
enough  for  anything?  I  tell  you,  Clara,  things  work 
just  as  well  sometimes  with  a  bit  of  an  uncommon, 
ugly  twist." 


CHAPTER  XXX 

"  BILLS/'  said  Mary  Settler,  bringing  herself  up 
against  Clara  Hopkins  suddenly  one  afternoon, 
after  she  had  spread  her  outward  and  visible  finan- 
cial liabilities  on  the  kitchen  table,  trusting  that  her 
friend  would  not  hop  in  too  suddenly  and  take  her 
unawares,  "  bills  is  much  the  same  as  children. 
Once  they  get  the  top  hand  on  you,  well  it's  a  sure 
thing  you  better  give  up  business  right  away." 

Clara  stood  her  ground  and  opened  fire. 

"  Mary  Settler,"  she  said,  "  if  you  could  give  busi- 
ness up  as  you  has  it,  you  wouldn't  be  scorching 
your  heart  with  worry  these  nights  and  Hek  Dean 
and  Jake  Heldy  and  others  as  has  some  hold  on 
this  concern,  be  hinting  to  you  tender-like  that  your 
property  was  in  a  mighty  big  danger  of  changing 
its  name.  Business,  you  call  it?  More  like  too 
much  fool  charity.  Think  I  didn't  know  how  things 
was  going?  And  how  much  you  was  putting  on 
that  turnip  crop  that  has  only  turned  to  blight  and 
burnt  roots,  and  given  Benjamin  as  bad  a  time  as 
anyone?  " 

"  Just  taking  you  on  the  hop,  Clara  .  .  .  about 
322 


SAMARITAN  MARY  323 

that  same,"  interrupted  Mary,  glad  of  an  oppor- 
tunity to  change  the  subject.  "  Benjamin  has  been 
having  a  bad  time,  sure  thing,  but  this  is  where  we 
start  right  at  the  beginning  and  manage  his  affairs 
same  as  our  own.  Now,  Clara,  this  concern  of 
mine  looks  like  going  into  other  hands.  I  can't 
call  on  Hek,  nor  claim  two  cents  more  from  him  by 
any  kinder  way  whatever,  so  if  Benjamin's  startin' 
a  new  trek,  it's  your  business  to  see  you  start  out 
with  him." 

Clara  opened  her  eyes  wider.  "  Sakes  alive, 
Mary,  you're  not  talking  of  turning  Benjamin  out 
of  the  place?  Ain't  he  been  bred  and  born  here 
and  eaten  his  food  out  of  your  hand  and  tamed 
down  to  a  kinder  pet  animal  ?  Ain't  he  part  of  the 
concern  same  as  the  yard  or  the  things  growing  in 
the  cultivation  patch?  Ain't  he  flesh  and  blood  of 
the  life  we  been  living  these  years  .  .  .  ain't 
he  .  .  ." 

Mary  had  to  stop  her.  Glistening  drops  were 
rolling  from  Clara's  eyes  and  that  troubled  Mary 
fearfully. 

"You  ain't  got  cause,  Clara,  to  get  upsetting 
yourself  on  account  of  Benjamin.  He's  a  good, 
honest  boy  and  can  get  work  anywhere.  When 
I've  settled  with  him,  the  check  ought  to  be  good 
enough  to  start  you  and  him  anywhere  you  like. 
You  don't  think,  Clara,  that  I'd  be  pushing  the  boy 


324  SAMARITAN  MARY 

out  into  the  cold  street,  on  a  kinder  barefooted, 
homeless,  lame-dog  stunt  ?  " 

In  the  good  woman's  eyes,  also,  tears  were  start- 
ing. A  thousand  fears  held  her  own  heart,  but  this 
was  the  only  intimation  that  she  was  feeling  any 
way  out  of  the  ordinary  at  all. 

"  Why,  I  been  circulating  ideas  into  my  own 
brain  all  this  month,  Clara,  ever  since  they  took 
my  girl  Spring  to  town  and  married  her  proper 
with  her  mother  and  family  handling  her  clothes, 
same  as  if  they  were  the  Monday  wash  and  must 
be  held  to  pegs  the  right  way  of  the  wind.  Sure  I 
been  setting  up  my  mind  that  you  and  Benjamin 
would  be  doing  the  same  thing  now,  and  my  check 
owing  to  Benjamin  just  coming  in  handy  to  set 
you  up." 

Here  Clara  blubbered  outright.  - 

"  Think  I  want  Benjamin  working  in  another 
person's  place  ?  Think  he'd  be  happy  ?  Think  we'd 
take  your  check,  Mary,  at  such  a  time  ?  " 

"  My  check  is  only  what's  been  owing  to  Ben- 
jamin for  about  nine  months  or  over.  Sure,  I  had 
it  ready,  but  Benjamin  never  kinder  hinted  he  was 
in  a  hurry;  and  there  was  other  things  ..." 

"  Yes,  I  know.  Mark  and  Cora  look  pretty  perky 
these  days.  Seen  her  at  Sunday  School  last  week. 
Dark  blue  serge,  nothing  less,  and  a  hat  that  was 
trimmed  at  the  store,  and  not  at  home  any  more 


SAMARITAN  MARY  325 

than  her  boots  was.  I'm  just  wondering,  Mary, 
what's  going  to  be  left  out  of  the  wreck  you  brought 
on  yourself." 

The  lights  were  dipping  in  the  sky  and  Mary 
watched  them  slowly.  Across  the  fields  Hek  Dean's 
little  house  took  the  colors  of  the  cold  evening,  and 
she  shivered.  There  was  something  in  the  scene 
that  affected  her  more  than  she  knew. 

With  a  heavy  sigh  released,  she  answered  Clara. 

"  There's  meself  .  .  .  left  .  .  .  out  of  the  wreck, 
Clara,  and  that's  something  to  be  thankful  for." 

Clara  mopped  her  eyes;  then  began  to  cry 
again. 

"  I  could  make  Hek  sorry  for  this  if  I  wanted 
to.  Everybody  knows  how  he's  been  loaning  and 
loaning  you  money  till  you  don't  know  which  is 
your  yard  and  which  is  his.  He's  got  no  sentiment 
about  knowing  you  since  you  was  a  girl,  Mary." 

"  Who  told  you  he  knew  me  since  I  was  a  girl, 
Clara?" 

Mary  asked  the  question  with  the  abruptness  of 
a  door  banging. 

"  Why,  Hek,  of  course !  Only  the  other  night 
Miss  Liz  Hetty  was  trying  it  over  Hek  about  things, 
and  Hek  arguing  that  you  had  first  call  to — 
to  .  .  ." 

Mary's  eyes  were  luminous,  though  her  face  was 
white  as  death.  She  held  up  one  hand. 


326  SAMARITAN  MARY 

"  Clara,  for  the  love  of  Heaven  don't  go  telling 
me  things  like  that !  " 

She  swallowed  some  of  her  excitement  and  went 
on  more  calmly : 

"  If  Hek  ain't  gracious  to  Liz  Hetty  for  what 
she's  done  by  him  these  years " 

"  She's  near  driven  him  out  of  the  country !  " 

"  That's  his  way  of  making  you  think  so,  Clara. 
Minds  me  of  the  time  Miriam  Plenty  got  herself 
up  to  shouting  colors  and  style  of  hair,  jest  because 
a  feller  was  coming  courting  her  sister  and  her 
sister  going  to  refuse  him  good  and  strong  out  of 
spite  for  something.  Miriam  she  dances  along  like 
the  wind  on  the  water  and  catches  her  sister  in  her 
arms  and  tells  her  that  there  was  a  proposal  coming 
her  way  that  very  day.  .  .  .  Well,  what  actually 
happened  was  this,  that  her  sister  gives  her  no 
chance  whatever  and  grabs  him  by  the  collar  first 
go  and  asks  him  outright  what  he  means  by  it. 
There  was  a  terrible  lot  of  play-acting  that  minute 
and  the  curtain  had  to  come  down  sharp,  or  Miriam 
would  have  been  in  with  a  hop,  skip,  and  jump  to 
seize  anything  she  could  in  the  way  of  that  feller, 
just  out  of  fool  notions  that  her  sister  might  let 
him  escape.  Same  with  Hek.  He's  clear-sighted 
about  his  own  case.  He  allows  that  Liz  Hetty 
ain't  got  no  call  to  have  first  place  with  him,  but 
she  has  all  the  same." 


SAMARITAN  MARY  327 

Mary  finished  by  dusting  her  face  with  her  sleeve. 
She  was  wringing  her  handkerchief,  though  she  had 
forgotten  to  use  it  to  dry  her  perspiring  hands,  and 
Clara  noticed  them.  She  smiled  at  Mary. 

"  I  got  a  letter  from  Hek,  this  very  day,  saying 
things  had  got  to  be  fixed,  Clara,  so  that  shows 
your  argument  is  against  wanting  sentiment  for  me, 
though  he  has  known  me  since  the  days  when  he 
did  chores  for  my  mother.  He's  going  to  settle 
with  Liz  Hetty,  or  else  he's  in  for  a  bad  time  with 
pneumonia  this  season,  and  nobody  to  take  him  in 
hand." 

Clara  looked  knowing. 

"  I'm  trying  to  guess  where  you'll  be,  Mary,  if 
there's  nobody  to  take  him  in  hand  ?  " 

Mary  never  answered.  Her  old  face  grew  shad- 
owy like  the  evening  and  she  began  to  bustle  about 
in  the  kitchen  right  away. 

"  Suppose  you'll  be  out-be-the-day  doing  washing 
for  the  folks  around  Bird  Town,  Mary?  I'm  going 
right  along  to  Benjamin  this  minute  to  settle  that 
first  of  all." 

And  as  if  to  prevent  any  further  argument,  Clara 
banged  the  kitchen  door  as  she  went  into  the 
yard. 

Mary  began  to  seriously  think  about  her  business 
affairs  with  her  eyes  set  towards  Hek  Dean's  house. 
A  light  shone  out  from  the  windows  and  made  the 


328  SAMARITAN  MARY 

shadows  more  formidable.  For  the  first  time  in  her 
life  she  discredited  Hek  of  systematic  charity.  He 
had  put  the  case  of  her  loans  in  the  broadest  way, 
never  hinting  as  to  how  she  might  pay  in  ready 
cash  at  any  time;  but  made  it  plain  that  the  friend- 
ship, would  be  the  same  when  her  property  had  been 
signed  to  him  and  the  dividing  fence  broken  down 
between  the  farms.  Her  property.  .  .  .  Not  for 
one  minute  would  Mary  Settler  have  thought  of 
taking  the  trouble  to  an  outsider.  It  might  incul- 
pate Hek,  and  that  would  not  be  playing  a  fair  game 
after  his  services  to  her  in  the  years.  She  began 
to  think  he  was  right  to  claim  her  small  house  and 
land;  but  it  threw  Benjamin  into  the  masses  of  the 
unemployed  right  away.  The  good  woman  never 
took  into  consideration  that  she  also  might  find  it 
difficult  to  wade  through  the  advertisements  for  a 
"  charwoman  "  wanted  by  the  day.  That  all  seemed 
so  small,  now.  She  was  getting  old,  and  could  live 
on  as  much  as  she  gave  to  the  chickens  if  it  came 
to  the  point,  but  Benjamin  .  .  .  with  his  ideas  about 
marrying  Clara. 

The  more  she  thought  about  it  the  more  she  mis- 
understood Hek  Dean's  motive  in  putting  the  case 
so  plainly  to  her.  He  had  showed  her  the  true  bill 
over  her  head.  It  seemed  to  have  expanded  tele- 
scopically  in  the  last  two  years.  Of  course  there 
had  been  liabilities  through  bad  seasons  and  acci- 


SAMARITAN  MARY  329 

dents  and  general  poverty  in  the  neighborhood;  but 
that  had  nothing  to  do  with  Hek. 

"  Not  that  Hek  made  any  fuss  about  my  getting 
the  money  in  time,"  she  said  to  the  rising  shades 
of  night.  "  Don't  think  he  put  it  that  way  at  all; 
but  then  of  course  if  Liz  Hetty's  comin'  into  things 
maybe  the  house  would  be  more  profitable,  and  .  .  . 
I  don't  think  I  could  keep  above  water  even  with 
Benjamin,  now  the  turnips  is  gone  on  us  as  well." 

Yes,  she  had  to  admit,  Hek  had  been  considerate. 
He  had  simply  implied  that  he  could  claim  the  prop- 
erty any  day  now,  and  that  he  would  like  her  opinion 
on  that  same  subject  if  she  would  step  over  a  spell 
some  morning  before  Liz  Hetty  arrived  on  the 
scene. 

She  had  never  stepped  over  so  far,  as  she  wanted 
to  think  it  out  first.  She  wondered  now  if  Hek 
would  agree  to  keep  Benjamin  on,  as  he  would  be 
working  the  two  places?  Liz  Hetty  wasn't  likely 
to  disagree  to  that,  and  Benjamin  was  a  thorough 
good  lad  and  equal  to  Hulky  Smith  for  a  day's  solid 
work. 

Hek  had  not  mentioned  the  matter  of  what  was 
to  become  of  either  Benjamin  or  herself.  Naturally 
she  thought  he  would  not  expect  her  to  remain, 
even  if  he  had  included  Benjamin.  Perhaps  he 
thought  that  she  would  go  to  the  city  and  do  chores 
in  Spring's  new  home  on  Fifth  Avenue.  It  seemed 


330  SAMARITAN  MARY 

as  if  he  must  have,  as  he  was  so  keen  on  the  point 
of  not  asking  her  to  try  and  pay  the  debt  in  cash 
at  all.  Clara  had  hit  it  right  away,  it  appeared. 
Her  property  was  in  a  mighty  big  danger  of  chang- 
ing its  name.  Well,  she  would  not  have  minded 
so  much  if  it  had  not  been  for  Benjamin  .  .  . 

Clara  and  Benjamin  came  into  the  kitchen. 

Mary  put  away  the  bills  because  it  seemed  to 
increase  her  trouble  of  mind  to  see  them  about. 

"  I'll  see  Hek  in  the  morning,"  she  said  out  loud 
as  she  pushed  them  into  the  knife  drawer  and 
turned  to  speak  to  Clara. 

"  Hek  Dean  don't  get  this  place,  Mary,"  Ben- 
jamin began  before  he  sat  down  to  his  tea.  "  Not 
if  I  have  to  borrer  the  money  meself,  and  Clara 
and  me  run  it  on  corn  husks  till  we  can  hit  things 
proper  with  them  as  loans  us  the  ready  cash." 

"  I  was  thinkin'  of  asking  Hek,  Benjamin,  to  let 
you  and  Clara  stop  on  a  spell  and  work  the  place 
same  as  you " 

Benjamin  flourished  his  fork.  "  Ask  Hek  noth- 
ing. I  guess  you  better  hand  me  out  the  proper 
rights  to  talk  the  situation  with  him  and  find  out 
what  he's  really  hitting  at." 

Mary  looked  slowly  at  him. 

"  He's  hitting  at  only  what's  owed  him,  Benjamin, 
through  my  bad  seasons,  nothing  else." 

Benjamin  swung  round  in  his  chair  and  took  a 


SAMARITAN  MARY  331 

good  look  at  Clara.  She  smiled  back  and  Mary 
was  left  guessing. 

"  Hek's  trying  to  lose  Liz  Hetty;  if  you  can't  see 
it,  Mary,  you're  blind  as  a  mole." 

As  Mary  could  not  see  anything  of  the  kind  she 
shut  her  mouth  for  good  on  the  subject,  and  the 
evening  grew  in  shadows  as  Clara  went  home,  snif- 
fling and  rather  down  at  the  mouth. 

It  was  nothing  to  her  that  Benjamin  had  allowed 
her  to  stand  fretting  him  into  a  fit  for  fully  two 
hours  that  night.  She  had  always  managed  Ben- 
jamin, but — things  looked  very  bad  for  Mary 
Settler. 


CHAPTER  XXXI 

"  FOR  all  the  world  like  falling  on  your  feet 
proper-ways  when  somebody  had  turned  you  up- 
side down  and  dropped  you  from  a  terrible-looking 
height,  thinking  to  stop  off  your  life  allowance  by 
jamming  you  good  and  hard  on  the  rocks  below. 
If  it  had  been  Hannah-Ellen,  my  old  cat,  I  shouldn't 
have  wondered.  She  always  did  fall  into  place  like 
a  lady,  right  side  up,  even  if  you  pushed  her  off 
the  table  good  and  hard  in  a  worse  temper  than  you 
knew  about  .  .  .  but  Mary  Settler  ...  to  strike 
it  rich  this  way,  do  you  hear  me  tellin'  you,  Ben- 
jamin ?  " 

Benjamin  was  slow  to  catch  her  meaning,  but  he 
stopped  eating  his  breakfast-food  and  looked  at  her. 

"  Spring  and  her  man  been  writing  a  check  for 
all  you  done,  Mary?  " 

"  No,  Benjamin,  it's  just  that  Lancelot  himself, 
leaving  Spring  where  she  ought  to  be  the  time  of 
night  he  wrote  it.  Here  it  is : 

"  '  My  good  Samaritan  Mary  '  (Now,  Benjamin 
o'  the  yard,  you're  not  to  copyright  that  to  Clara  be 
any  chance.  Town  folks  is  apt  to  misconstrue  the 
Bible  same  as  the  rest  of  us,  and  Lancelot  ain't  to 

332 


SAMARITAN  MARY  333 

blame  for  the  name  he's  given  me  outter  his  kind- 
ness of  heart.)" 

"  Read  the  check  first,"  said  Benjamin,  with  a 
wonderful  glee  in  his  face.  "  Read  out  the  check, 
Mary.  Clara  will  be  here  soon  and  it'll  be  my 
turn  in  the  yard  with  that  old  hoss.  .  .  .  He's  likely 
to  be  more  interested  in  me  than  folks  that  happen 
to  say  they'll  marry  after  Thanksgiving." 

Mary  postponed  the  letter  till  she  had  said  a  few 
words  about  Clara. 

"  Benjamin,  if  Clara  was  to  fall  on  your  neck, 
she'd  maybe  kill  you  with  kindness.  Her  kind  don't 
act  that  way.  More  likely  she'll  hit  up  things 
good  and  strong  after  you're  married,  and  you 
won't  know  a  moment's  mortal  peace;  but  she'll 
love  you  like  your  mother  did  years  before  you 
knew  it.  Clara's  the  sort  to  talk  the  head  off  a  stick 
of  rhubarb,  but  that's  what  she's  marrying  you 
for.  If  a  woman  can't  be  to  home  in  her  own 
house,  and  work  off  steam  a  bit  there,  well,  she's 
as  good  as  never  wed  at  all." 

"  Never  wed  at  all !  "  Benjamin  looked  hard  at 
Mary.  "  That's  what  I'm  grouchy  about.  Clara 
puts  me  off  and  off  ...  you'd  think  I  was  a  hat 
she'd  been  wearing  till  her  head  was  sore  about  it." 

Mary  began  the  letter  again.  Lancelot  Pendren 
had  made  her  out  a  check  payable  on  presentation 
at  the  nearest  bank.  It  covered  all  liabilities  on 


334  SAMARITAN  MARY 

the  property  as  well  as  allowing  a  balance  in  the 
bank  to  meet  expenses  the  next  two  seasons  if  they 
happened  to  be  bad  ones.  Spring  had  joined  in  the 
letter  at  the  finish,  beseeching  Mary  to  leave  Clara 
in  charge  and  come  to  her  before  the  end  of  the 
present  season  so  that  she  could  share  in  all  the  good 
things  and  see  the  beautiful  gifts  presented  to  her 
by  her  husband  and  his  people. 

Clara  Hopkins  walked  in  at  this  point  and  said 
something  about  Mary  leaving  right  away. 

"  Spring  will  outfit  you  from  the  stores  the  mo- 
ment you  touch  her  place,"  said  Clara. 

Mary  allowed  this  to  pass,  as  there  was  some- 
thing bigger  looming  on  the  horizon. 

"  I  allow  I  might  go  to  Spring  right  away,"  said 
Mary,  "  but  happen  you  to  think,  Clara,  that  you 
an'  Benjamin  can't  take  on  my  place  together,  'cept 
you  get  Deacon  Heddy  to  come  along  and  fix  you 
good  and  proper." 

Clara  hedged,  but  finally  had  to  give  in. 

"  If  you'll  leave  the  place  to  Benjamin  and  me, 
Mary,  and  go  away  this  very  week,  I'll  get  all  my 
starched  and  colored's  in  early,  and  marry  Ben- 
jamin ..." 

"  An'  I'll  help  you  with  the  flannels !  "  Benjamin 
burst  out,  scarcely  waiting  to  draw  a  breath. 

'  You  got  enough  to  do  about  your  own  work 
without  inter ferin'  with  mine,"  said  Clara. 


SAMARITAN  MARY  335 

Benjamin  found  himself  boss  for  the  first  time 
through  sheer  bravery.  He  caught  Clara  in  his 
arms  before  Mary. 

"  You'll  see !  "  he  said  gleefully,  holding  Clara 
as  she  protested  indignantly  all  the  time  Mary 
was  putting  on  her  cape  to  go  and  see  Hek. 

Half  an  hour  afterwards  the  good  Samaritan 
scraped  the  mud  of  the  damp  fields  from  her  boots 
on  the  door-iron  at  Hek  Dean's  house.  The  place 
was  very  silent.  She  knocked  but  got  no  answer; 
then  she  turned  the  latch  upwards  and  the  door 
opened  easily. 

Marveling  at  such  a  free  entrance,  she  walked  in. 
Hek  was  breathing  heavily  in  his  bed  in  the  little 
room  off  the  passage.  Even  with  a  prodigious 
plaster,  Miss  Hetty  had  not  succeeded  in  warding 
off  the  specially  invited  pneumonia.  Mary  paused 
and  looked  in  on  Hek. 

"  You're  mortal  bad,  Hek,  and  I  shouldn't  be 
interferin'  ..." 

Breathing  with  painful  difficulty,  Hek  managed 
to  convey  to  her  that  he  wished  her  to  come  nearer. 

"  Better  ease  your  mind  first,  Hek,  by  telling  you 
that  I  got  the  money  you  lent  so  good  and  often. 
You'll  lie  better  now  that's  off  your  mind." 

But  the  patient  did  not  lie  any  easier.  He  strug- 
gled to  get  up. 


336  SAMARITAN  MARY 

"  I  never  asked  you  for  the  money,  Mary."  It 
came  through  stiff  lungs,  and  the  heart  of  the 
woman  cramped  in  her  body  because  he  looked  so 
forlorn  and  desperate. 

"  That  was  good  of  you,  Hek.  You  never  did. 
But  I'm  proud  to  be  able  to  hand  you  the  check  as 
that  Lancelot  and  Spring  sent  me  this  morning. 
I'm  hitting  a  new  track  for  New  York,  Hek,  leaving 
Clara  and  Benjamin  o'  the  yard  in  charge  till  .  .  . 
till  I  come  back  again." 

The  old  man  struggled  to  get  himself  up  in  bed. 
She  put  him  back  softly,  tenderly.  For  the  first 
time  in  years  she  touched  him  on  the  head  with  her 
hands. 

"  Till  you  .   .    .  come  back,  Mary  ?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  Will  it  be  soon  ?  I  never  felt  comfortable  about 
things  when  you  went  as  far  as  Jake  Heldy's  store 
even." 

"  You  got  Miss  Liz  Hetty,  Hek,  and  that's  some- 
thing to  be  thankful  for.  Besides,  there's  Clara  and 
Benjamin  and  Cora  and  the  baby." 

The  old  man  struggled  up  again. 

"  Sounds  like  you  ain't  exactly  comin'  back, 
Mary?" 

Mary  answered  slowly. 

"  No  ...  I  ain't  exactly  comin'  back,  Hek." 


SAMARITAN  MARY  337 

He  breathed  again  heavily,  and  his  breath  was  like 
the  moan  of  wind  in  the  house. 

"  Mary  .  .  .  Mary,  you  mind  the  time  ...  I 
been  thinking  of  it  so  many  years.  Paradise  it 
was " 

Mary  folded  her  cape  closer. 

"  That  was  the  hill  we  climbed,  Hek.  Paradise 
it  was  till  we  ...  got  home  ...  at  nights  ..." 

"  Mary  .  .  .  that  money.  I  never  wanted  to  loan 
it  to  you  to  get  it  back  again." 

"  D'yer  mean  you  was  making  me  a  present  of  it, 
Hek?" 

"  Wall  ...  not  exactly,  but  ... " 

"  You  wanted  my  property,  Hek.  Everybody 
says  my  place  would  look  better  tacked  on  to  yours. 
Something  like  traveling  a  refreshment  car  with  the 
passenger  and  baggage  train,  eh  ?  " 

"  I  wanted  .  .  .  your  property,  Mary.  .  .  .  Yes, 
that's  what  I  wanted.  Take  your  check  away.  If 
I  can't  have  your  property  ..." 

He  tried  to  get  easier  in  his  mind  before  speaking 
further,  and  Mary  went  on  talking  and  tidying  up 
the  room  a  bit. 

"  My  bit  of  a  place  ain't  worth  two  cents  now, 
Hek." 

"  It'd  be  worth  more'n  that  to  me,  Mary." 

"'Cos  it's  only  got  the  dividing  fence  be- 
tween?" 


338  SAMARITAN  MARY 

"  'Cos  it's  only  that  fence,  Mary,  that's  been 
botherin'  me  all  these  years." 

She  thought  that  he  might  take  a  sudden  fit  if 
she  did  not  immediately  go  to  him  and  place  him 
gently  back  in  the  bed. 

"  If  that  fence  troubles  you,  Hek,  I'll  allow  you 
to  pull  it  down  right  away.  Keep  low  now." 

But  Hek  could  not  keep  low. 

"  You  mean  that,  Mary  ?  I  can  get  Hulky  Smith 
to  .  .  .to  take  it  down?  " 

"If  it  makes  all  the  difference  to  you,  Hek.  I'm 
not  stopping  you." 

"  And  .  .  .  then  the  property  is  one,  Mary  .  .  . 
and  you  and  me  ...  is  ...  one." 

At  last,  after  untold  years,  he  had  got  it  out. 
Mary  stood  in  the  center  of  the  room,  staring  at 
him. 

"  You're  not  too  bad  with  pneumonia,  Hek." 

"  I'm  mortal  bad,  Mary.  Bad  enuff  to  want  you 
to  give  over  that  idea  of  New  York  City — bad 
enuff  to  want  you  for  the  rest  of  my  life." 

Mary  simmered  on  this.  "  'Tain't  exactly  play- 
ing the  hand  Liz  Hetty's  side  of  the  table,  Hek." 

"  Liz  Hetty  knows  my  mind  .  .  .  will  you  ask 
Benjamin  to  get  Hulky  Smith  to  take  down  that 
fence?" 

Slowly  she  walked  toward  the  bed.  Hek  was 
an  old  man,  far  older  than  herself  and  not  easy  to 


SAMARITAN  MARY  339 

deal  with  at  any  time,  much  less  every  day  of  the 
year.     She  stood  looking  down  at  him. 

"  Hek,"  she  said,  "  I  never  knew  you  cared  that 
much  when  ...  the  break  came.  Cora's  mother 
beat  me  spite  of  the  scented  notepaper  and  the  chew- 
ing gum,  and  such,  but  if  God's  willing  to  let  me 
take  up  the  ropes  where  I  let  'em  drop  .  .  .  well, 
Hek,  there's  only  one  God  and  .  .  .  you,  and  .  .  . 
me  ...  after  all,  to  settle  it  now." 

"  And  if  the  pneumonia  ain't  too  terrible,  Mary, 
I'll  be  up  to  watch  'em  pulling  down  that  fence 
.  .  .  maybe  next  week." 

"  Maybe,  Hek,"  said  Mary,  although  he  coughed 
so  badly  that  she  felt  it  go  clean  through  her  own 
old  body. 

All  day  she  moved  about  the  house,  adjusting 
the  crockery  and  the  furniture.  The  neighbors  told 
Miss  Hetty  what  was  doing  at  Hek  Dean's  and  she 
did  not  come  near  the  house.  Late  in  the  evening, 
when  the  wind  quieted  down  into  distressingly 
mournful  sighing  through  the  cracks  of  the  old 
building,  Mary  watched  the  old  man  lying  low  in 
his  bed. 

"  That  pneumonia's  going  to  leave  Hek  a  dif- 
ferent man,"  she  said  mentally.  "  Don't  think  he's 
ever  going  to  be  much  use  again,  still,  thank  the 
Powers  it  happened  when  it  did.  I  might  have  been 
in  New  York  hitting  up  a  time  like  I  used  to  dream 


340  SAMARITAN  MARY 

about  when  .  .  .  when  I  was  .  .  .  called  by  the 
name  of  a  blessed  flower,  and  him  never  suspecting 
me  as  just  plain  Mary." 

In  his  slumbers  the  old  man  almost  seemed  to 
hear  her.  He  was  wandering  back  to  the  old  days. 

"  Daffodil,"  he  said,  like  the  whispering  wind, 
and  Mary  bent  over  the  bed. 

"  He  must  be  mortal  bad  to  remember  that,"  she 
said  to  herself.  "  So  it's  me  he  wanted  through 
that  bit  of  property."  She  stood  tranquilly  brood- 
ing over  the  past. 

"  Seems  like  Providence  didn't  remind  him  long 
ago  on  purpose,"  she  told  herself,  "  and  the  things 
I've  cherished  all  these  years  have  come  in  as  bene- 
fits, so  to  speak,  to  make  up  for  what  I  lost.  What 
...  I  lost  .  .  .  why,  Hek,  if  you'd  only  thought 
about  it  before  .  .  .  when  I  was  a  bit  younger  and 
more  fashioned  for — for  .  .  .  oh,  well!  I  suppose 
Cora  will  keep  us  in  touch  with  a  new  line  of  human 
emotions.  It  'ud  be  more  than  we  could  expect  of 
the  Lord  at  my  time  of  life.  Same  time  ..." 

She  looked  at  Hek  lying  there  breathing  heavily. 

"  Count  .  .  .  your  blessings  ...  as  I've  always 
said,"  she  went  on,  as  she  took  a  chair  and  de- 
liberately sat  down  to  watch  over  and  tend  him 
through  the  creeping  coldness  of  the  night. 

THE  END 


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Ernest."  It  tells  of  two  years  in  the  life  of  a  family  of  six  or- 
phans— young  men  and  maidens  of  to-day.  It  is  full  of  the 
spirit  of  modern  youth — its  pluck,  its  foolishness,  its  fun,  and 
its  ideals. 

ANGEL  ISLAND 

With  2  illustrations  by  JOHN  RAE.     $1.35  net. 

This  strange,  picturesque  romance,  with  its  deep  underlying 
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PHOEBE  AND  ERNEST 

With  30  illustrations  by  R.  F.  SCHABELITZ.    $1.35  net. 

Parents  will  recognize  themselves  in  the  story,  and  laugh 
tmderstandingly  with,  and  sometimes  at,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Martin 
and  their  children,  Phoebe  and  Ernest. 

"We  must  go  back  to  Louisa  Olcott  for  their  equals."— Boston  Adver- 
tiser. 

PHOEBE,  ERNEST,   AND  CUPID 

Illustrated  by  R.  F.  SCHABELITZ.    $1.35  net. 
In  this  sequel  to  the  popular  "Phoebe  and  Ernest,"  each 
of  these  delightful  young  folk  goes  to  the  altar. 

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ommend 'Phoebe,  Ernest,  and  Cupid '  with  all  our  hearts:  it  is  not  only 
cheerful,  it's  true."— N.  Y.  Times  Review. 

JANEY 

Illustrated  by  ADA  C.  WILLIAMSON.    $1.25  net. 
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THE  SQUIRREL-CAGE 

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An  unusual  personal  and  real  story  of  American  family 
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HILLSBORO  PEOPLE 

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A  collection  of  stories  about  a  Vermont  village. 

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Some  are  brilliant,  all  are  entertaining." — N.  Y.  Sun. 
THE  BENT  TWIG 

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The  story  of  a  lovely,  opened-eyed,  open-minded  Ameri- 
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CONINGSBY      <D A  W S O N 


The  Garden  Without  Walls 

The  story  of  the  adventures  in  love  of  the  hero  till  his 
thirtieth  year  is  as  fascinating  as  are  the  three  heroines. 
His  Puritan  stock  is  in  constant  conflict  with  his  Pagan 
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"Mr.  Dawson  has  dared  splendidly  to  write,  in  a  glorious  abandon, 
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pagan  color,  yet  wholly  modern  in  its  import." — Samuel  Abbott,  in 
The  Boston  Herald. 

"All  vivid  with  the  color  of  life;  a  novel  to  compel  not  only  absorbed 
attention,  but  long  remembrance." — The  Boston  Transcript. 

"The  most  enjoyable  first  novel  since  De  Morgan's  'Joseph  Vance.' " 

— /.  B.  Kerfoot,  in  Life. 

The  Raft 

A  story  of  high  gallantry,  which  teaches  that  even  mod- 
ern life  is  an  affair  of  courageous  chivalry.  The  story  is 
crowded  with  over  thirty  significant  characters,  some 
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real  with  their  contrasting  ideals  and  purposes. 

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Florence  on  a  Certain  Night  (and  Other  Poems) 

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"The   work   of  a  true  lyric  poet  who   'utters  his   own   soul.'  " 

— Literary   Digest. 

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delicacy  and  strength.  A  generation  which  has  all  but  forgotten  the 
meaning  of  the  phrase  'to  keep  himself  unspotted  from  the  world'  has 
great  need  of  this  sort  of  poetry." — Providence  Journal. 


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THE    HOME    BOOK   OF    VERSE 

"A  collection  so  complete  and  distinguished  that  it  is  difficult 
to  find  any  other  approaching  it  sufficiently  for  comparison." — 
N.  Y.  Times  Book  Review. 

Compiled  by  BURTON  E.  STEVENSON 

Collects  the  best  short  poetry  of  the  English  language — not 
only  the  poetry  everybody  says  is  good,  but  also  the  verses  that 
everybody  reads.  (3742  pages,-  India  paper,  complete  author, 
title  and  first  line  indices.) 

The  most  comprehensive  and  representative  collection  of 
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unabridged  poems  from  some  1,100  authors. 

It  brings  together  in  one  volume  the  best  short  poetry  of  the 
English  language  from  the  time  of  Spencer,  with  especial  atten- 
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The  copyright  deadline  has  been  passed,  and  some  three 
hundred  recent  authors  are  included,  very  few  of  whom  appear 
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unusually  close  and  searching.  Some  of  the  most  comprehen- 
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India  Paper  Editions 

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STANDARD  CONTEMPORARY  NOVELS 

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ANTHONY  HOPE'S   PRISONER  OF  ZENDA 

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ANTHONY  HOPE'S  DOLLY  DIALOGUES 

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